From the Ashes of Destruction
by Umbra Erus
Summary: What would happen if Path of the Furon was taken in a whole new direction? If the Nexos never came? If the saucer never crashed? This AU story takes our sarcastic extraterrestrial heroes on a different sort of adventure full of fiery ends and bright new beginnings.
1. Lost in Space Dust

From the Ashes of Destruction

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Destroy All Humans, nor do I own any characters used from the series such as Crypto and Pox. Please note that this Fan Fiction is massive AU and essentially replaces "Path of the Furon" by picking up roughly where it begins and then changing the entire story line (including the whole old saucer being destroyed part because as cool as the new saucer is I still favor the saucer from the second game). I do not think that Path of the Furon is a bad game, in fact I own it and I really like it but I wanted to take the story in a different direction. I apologize for Crypto's terrible grammar, but having played the games for a long time I attempted to write out his speech as it is in the game and he is probably the last person to ask about proper English. I also apologize for any errors made. Please do not steal my stuff and please be gentle, this Fan Fiction is my first.

**Chapter 1: Lost in Space Dust**

It was a noisy night in Paradiso, then again, all of the nights in Paradiso were noisy, and it was, after all, the gambling capital of America. Crypto had fallen asleep in front of the TV after finding that nothing interesting was on.

Pox hovered into the room; he had built himself a better holo-pod a few years after abandoning his fast food franchise. This new holo-pod greatly improved his appearance and had three robotic arms that allowed him to do his work more easily. He looked at the TV, then at Crypto, shaking his head and speaking softly "How sweet, shirking his duties for ridiculous movies and television. You know Crypto the emperor would be very displeased if he knew just how low we are on brains right now. But I suppose you didn't think of that did you?" he leaned closer to the sleeping warrior, "Oh no, you're far too busy TAKING A NAP!" he suddenly yelled, causing Crypto to wake up with a start and fall off the round chair he was sleeping on. "Hey babe don't be upset!" he said but looked around quick and noticed Pox, "Oh it's just you."

"Well good morning Crypto, so nice of you to drop into reality." Pox frowned.

"…Its Morning already? I don't feel hung-over."

"No it's not really morning! Crypto you have been investing far too much time in this "Space Dust" casino of yours. Perhaps you've forgotten that our primary goal and entire mission is collecting DNA!"

"I did collect DNA; I got some…uh…"

"Two weeks ago! I warn you Crypto start keeping up with your duties or I will shut this place down!"

"You wouldn't do that. You bark a lot Poxy but you've yet to bite me. Besides what are ya complainin about? Yer in for 5% aren't ya? Lemme guess Yer still sore about being virtual."

"Hmph, I may not be a hologram for much longer!"

"Sure, sure, whatever makes ya feel better, look I'll get more brains for ya soon alright?"

"Fine," Pox sighed, "as long as you don't let this business get in the way too much I have no problem with it."

"That's what I'm talkin' about Poxy!" Crypto smiled, "Now use your fancy genius and tell me how well we're doing this month."

"Oh, let me see…" Pox was silent for a moment as he did the math, "According to my calculations the "Sultan" has abducted 15% of our business crowd, meaning profits are on the decrease. We must do something that will tip the scale back in our favor and return the customers to us."

"Damn it! I hate those guys! Ever since they showed up they've been getting on my nerves."

"Indeed," Pox thought, "most of their business influx is due to the high number of promotional tactics they have used to appeal to the greed of the masses."

Crypto stared at him, "One more time, but say it so I can understand ya."

Pox sighed, "They've been advertising and offering special deals and prizes which is bringing them a larger crowd."

"Oh, okay. So what do we do about it?"

"I suggest we reply in kind. We need to promote the Space Dust with some kind of big publicity stunt. I also suggest we acquire some interesting prizes that the high-rollers can shoot for."

"And cash isn't a good enough prize?"

"No Crypto it's not. Humans are greedy, after a while money just isn't enough anymore, as their gambling fever increases so too does their greed and if the "Sultan" is giving them the chance to earn big prizes so too must we if we want them to remain here."

"Kay, so what kinda prizes are gonna get em here?"

"Vehicles are quite popular, as are vacations and luxury cruises."

"That's gonna take a bite out of my bank account!"

"**Our** bank accounts and no it won't. The odds of them winning these prizes will be very slim, but it will still draw them in and we will profit from their determination to win and their repeated failure to do so."

"Okay so I guess the first thing to do is get our hands on a shiny, hot car right?"

"Exactly, human vehicles these days run from 3,000 to 5,000 dollars, inflation here is ridiculous. Instead of paying out for something we may ultimately have to give away I suggest you get a car fresh off of the lot with the Abducto Beam on your saucer and bring it back here. I will make some alterations to it so that it cannot be identified as the one you stole.

Crypto nodded but still wasn't sure about this idea, "Uh, look Pox I know you like all yer fancy plans and such but why can't we just destroy the Sultan?"

"We are Crypto; we're just doing it more subtly."

"I hate subtle." He growled as he walked outside to the saucer. He let the Abducto Beam lift him into the cockpit and he started it up, going to look for a good car.

Pox watched the saucer take off and leave from a window before heading up to his room/lab. He picked up his research where he had left off last, working on a not so attractive machine he had been keeping hidden under a tarp for quite a while. He had built it from scrap but had not taken the time to give it that elegant, high-tech look and design it deserved, he was far too preoccupied with its hasty completion.

The time ticked away quickly. Pox had barely gotten started when he detected the saucer returning, he sighed and placed the tarp back over his masterpiece and went outside just as Crypto exited the saucer, having set a shiny new car down near where he had landed. Pox inspected the vehicle for a moment, "Good work Crypto."

"Piece of cake Poxy." The warrior clone grinned, "Okay, I'm gonna go see if I can find a show with topless chicks."

"Why don't you just walk around a few bars? You can see them in person." Pox said half-heartedly, continuing to examine the vehicle.

"I thought about that but I wanna check 'em out without 'em throwing up on me." Crypto headed back inside.

Pox rolled his eyes—er, digital receptors. He spent the next few hours altering the car so it looked like they had had it custom made instead of stole it. He added a few features such as nicer hubcaps, an eight-track player and had given the car a celestial-looking paint job to match the theme of the Space Dust. He rolled it into the building and put it on display on the main floor of the casino; returning to his lab and his special project after.


	2. A 14th Chance

**Chapter 2: A 14th Chance**

Business quickly got better over the next month or so. Pox had successfully guided Crypto in the business tactics needed to steal back their customers from the Sultan, plus a great deal more. As the Sultan's profits dwindled, Crypto resumed his usual DNA gathering by day, TV and chicks by night routine.

However, he was feeling particularly more bored then usual on a nice sunny day and headed up to Pox's room to pester him, not bothering to knock and just barging in.

"Hey Poxarific!"

Pox was startled and turned to face him quickly, a scowl forming on his face, "Don't you knock anymore?" he hissed.

"Why bother? It's not like I could catch ya doing something private, you don't have a-"

"**Body** I know!" Pox snapped, "As it so happens I am very busy today Crypto, I have no missions to relieve you of your boredom."

"Aw man," he whined but caught sight of the clunky-looking behemoth machine Pox had forgotten to cover up, "What in Arkvoodle's name is that?"

Pox turned and stared, frantically covering it back up, "That's nothing!"

"Is it one of those human space junk things?" Crypto asked as he pulled the tarp back off of it, much to his mentor's dismay.

"No!" Pox growled a little defensively, "It's a side project."

"You built this piece of crap? I hope yer not gonna stick it on my saucer cuz uh, I got an image to keep up."

"It's not for **you**! It's for me."

"Lemme guess it's some kinda nag-a-tron so you can get on my nerves even when you're powered down."

Pox grinned, "As much as I like that idea, no, it's not a "Nag-a-tron.""

"So what is it already, I'm running out of guesses here!"

"It's…a cloning chamber."

"What? Yer building your own?"

"I can't stand being a hologram anymore!" He said sadly, "And Arkvoodle knows when we'll get back to the home world to make me a new body, I can't wait that long!"

"Uh, okay but don't you need like cloning data…and a mold, from the home world?"

"Normally yes," Pox admitted, "But I sort of found a way around that."

"What are you saying?"

"With this machine I should be able to restore my body with only a blood sample."

"Does that mean yer gonna be old again?"

"No, I will be only as old as I was when the blood was taken…and I wasn't **that **old!"

"Right," Crypto said in a mocking tone. He thought for a second before saying, "wait a minute Poxy, you got blown up and so did the Mothership. Where are we gonna get a blood sample from ya?"

"Recently I detected a faint Furon technology signature coming from Alaska. I discovered that the Mothership's refrigeration unit from the medical wing survived the fall to earth. There was blood from both of us inside of that unit."

"Doesn't blood go bad after a while?"

"If not properly preserved, yes they do. But the refrigeration unit was designed to keep such samples good for a number of years, and it seemed in fairly good shape during my scans despite the fall to earth. Even if it was damaged, there is a good chance that the cold temperatures of where it landed compensated for that damage."

"Alright, cool!" Crypto grinned, "So how are you gonna get the fridge unit here?"

"You of course!" Pox smiled and Crypto's grin faded,

"I swore off cold climates after the whole Soviet thing.

"Oh come on Crypto," Pox put a mechanical arm around him, "It's not like I won't come with you."

Crypto stepped back from him some, "No way, my nads'll freeze off!"

Pox looked hurt, "Please Crypto…this may well be my only chance to be alive again in many years. I doubt we'll be getting clearance to return to the home world until our mission is complete; and they certainly are not in the mood to send us a new Mothership."

Crypto sighed, not wanting to crush Pox's dreams, "Alright fine, but don't ever say I don't do stuff for ya."

Pox's spirits lifted again and he smiled, "Thank you Crypto, this means a lot to me."

"Yeah, don't make this all mushy." He grinned, "So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, I should be done putting the finishing touches on the machine by then."

"Alright," he nodded," I'll go buy some thermal underwear then."

"Good idea, I will remain here and continue my work." Pox was already starting as he said that and Crypto watched him for a bit, he always admired Poxy's dedication. He left soon though to find a sporting goods store with thermal underwear size Furon.


	3. Alien Restoration

**Chapter 3: Alien Restoration**

The next morning Crypto was sleeping soundly in his room next to a red-headed human woman he had hypnotized into joining him. Pox peered in, making sure they were decent enough before hovering into the room and taking the girl out of the bed, careful not to wake her. He carried her out of the room and downstairs, wiping her memory and placing her in front of a slot machine with her hand on the arm of it, and placed a few quarters in her other hand so she would wake up thinking she had fallen asleep while gambling. He then headed back upstairs and into Crypto's room again. "You better not have a hangover" he murmured before saying, "Wake up Crypto! Rise and shine!"

The warrior groaned and pulled a pillow over his face as Pox flicked on the lights. "I miss when you hated mornings Pox."

"I never hated mornings, I hated seeing **you** in the morning."

"Haha funny." He groaned again as he said up and rubbed his eyes, glancing at the other side of the bed, "Hey where's that red-head chick?"

"I took care of it."

"Aw man, you didn't kill her did you? She was spicy."

"Relax Crypto I didn't kill her. I merely placed her among the slots and wiped her memory."

"Oh good." He grinned and got out of bed, "I wanna find her again sometime."

"Did you manage to get that underwear you wanted?" Pox asked in hopes of changing the subject.

"Nah, she said it cost her too much."

"What—No, the thermal underwear!" Pox frowned.

"Oh, oh yeah, I got that. Are we leaving immediately or is there time for breakfast?"

"I made coffee, that's all I had time for. Make toast if you must but do hurry."

"Alright, alright, don't be so pushy." He stretched a little and fixed his cloths, going and getting some coffee and toast before meeting Pox by the saucer.

Pox had already prepared everything he thought they would need and gotten the saucer ready to go. As Crypto came out he handed him his Disintegrator Ray, "Here Crypto, I upgraded it to hold more ammo."

"Thanks Poxy." He grinned and took the gun, "Now let's get flying."

Pox nodded, getting into the ship with Crypto who let the landing gear retract as it took off from the ground and he piloted it toward their frigid destination.

The journey didn't take long and very soon they landed in a remote area of Alaska near where Pox said the signature was strongest. Crypto looked out at all of the snow and frowned, "Looks like Bliskville all over again."

"Alaska is not that far away from Russia geographically; let us just hope none of them fled here when we destroyed them."

"Is that possible?"

"There is a slim chance, but I have been monitoring Alaska closely since we defeated the Blisk and have not detected anything out of the ordinary. Frankly I think we should be more concerned about being mauled by a polar bear then space lobsters, but it pays to be cautious."

"Polar bears huh? No problem" he headed out of the saucer, followed closely by Pox who floated about using his sensors to lock onto the refrigeration unit, very soon he pointed to a heap of ice and snow, "There!"

Crypto went over to it, "Good thing we brought the Disintegrator Ray, I'll have it out in no time."

"Be very careful Crypto!" Pox looked worried, "You must not damage the unit."

"Relax Pox; I'll try not to destroy it completely."

"Completely!?" Pox said with distress in his voice and Crypto snickered at him,

"I'll be careful, chill out."

Pox stayed a bit on edge as he watched Crypto carefully use the Disintegrator Ray to free the refrigeration unit from its snowy prison. He picked it up with his psychokinesis afterward and brought it over to the saucer, letting the Abducto Beam take it up inside. "That wasn't so hard, probably the easiest mission you've ever sent me on."

"Don't get too confident," Pox said, "I'm detecting something moving toward us."

"What? Where?" Crypto looked around and spotted a large figure coming their way. "Blisk?" He asked as he readied his gun.

"No, Polar Bear!" Pox exclaimed as the large animal came into view.

Crypto's eyes widened slightly and he took a couple steps back, ready to fire, "Ya want me to blow it up?"

"Eh…No, let's not risk attracting human attention with an Ion Detonator blast…let's just get out of here."

"Fine." He dragged Pox back into the Abducto Beam and let the ship take off, flying back to Paradiso in no time at all. Pox had Crypto place the refrigeration unit in his lab/room and Pox carefully opened it up, revealing several vials of blood. A couple had broken from the crash to earth but most of them had survived. He smiled, repairing any damage on the unit so it would function fully. Afterward he went and found Crypto again who was counting out some cash from the day's profits. He looked up as Pox hovered in "Hiya Poxy, find what ya needed in the fridge?"

"Yes, there's more than enough of my blood!" he said happily, "Follow me to the lab, I need your help."

"Alrighty." He tossed the cash back onto the table and got up.

Pox lead Crypto to the bulky cloning chamber and programed it, inserting two vials of his blood into the machine. "Alright Crypto, I'll be going in now, when the doors close please start the machine with this lever."

The warrior nodded and then frowned, "Wait Pox…what if this doesn't work?"

Pox was silent, not having thought about that, "I…I don't know, my Holopox unit will be deactivated when the machine pulls my conscious mind out of it…I suppose if the procedure fails, I…really will be gone."

Crypto looked down a little, he didn't like the idea that he might lose Pox. Pox was his mentor, his commander, and his fr- "Are you sure you want to take that risk?" Crypto asked suddenly to interrupt his own thoughts.

Pox looked back at the machine, then down at his mechanical hands, thinking. Finally he answered Crypto, but in a quieter tone,"…Yes, I can't live this way anymore, I want to be more than a machine again." He looked at Crypto again, "Wish me luck, and if something does go wrong…" his voice got sad "…Goodbye Crypto."

"Don't say that! M'sure it'll work." Crypto growled, trying to hide how he was feeling, "…Lets do this."

Pox nodded, hovering into the machine and the doors closed behind him. Crypto's mind was flooded with "What if" thoughts as he placed his hand on the lever. If Pox didn't come out alive what would become of the mission? What would become of him? What would he do without him? Despite all that went through his mind he clenched his sharp teeth together and forced himself to pull the lever.

The machine roared to life and began the procedure. Crypto worried as the junky machine made all kinds of terrible noises, not sure if that was bad or not. In a few minutes though the machine stopped and made a dull hum just before the doors on the other side opened, steam pouring out of them.

Crypto swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly approached the door "…Pox?"

For a moment there was silence, Crypto felt an overwhelming feeling of dread fill him up but it dissipated as a slender, grey hand reaching out from the mist and fog and grasped the side of the machine's door opening. A newly formed Pox; looking to be in his mid-twenties or so, staggered out of the chamber, having a large towel around himself.

Crypto smiled, "Hey lookin' good Poxy!" He caught Pox's arm to help him get used to standing,"Yer clunky machine worked great." Crypto was over joyed to see Pox was alright but did his best to suppress it.

Pox sensed it anyway though and smiled, "It did, its feels so good to be back! There's so much I can do now, I hardly know where to begin!"

"Whoa, slow down Pox, how about we start by getting ya some clothes?" Crypto referred to the huge towel around Pox.

Pox blushed slightly "Right, I have some over there; I managed to make myself an exact replica of my old commander robes."

"Yer a sucker for tradition Pox." Crypto said as he went and got the clothes for him, "I thought I could talk ya into some bellbottoms, platform shoes and some kind of groovy shirt."

"Ha! I hardly think so." Pox took the clothes from Crypto and stepped behind a screen, getting dressed. "Exactly how tall do these "platform" shoes make you?"

Crypto grinned, "A few inches, you want a pair?"

"No!" Pox said quickly, hiding his interest in such human things, "I was just curious." He stepped out from behind the curtain, adjusting his shoulder armor a bit; his robes were just as they had been before he was killed. "There, how do I look?"

"Like you're a slave to the ordinary," Crypto teased.

"Good!" Pox said stubbornly, "The last thing I need is to look like one of those color blind monkeys."

"You? Never." Crypto thought for a moment and looked at Pox with a grin on his face "So did you…?"

Pox frowned slightly, not sure what he meant, "Did I what?"

"You know, restore yer package?"

"That…That's none of your business!" Pox's blush returned.

"You did, didn't ya?" Crypto pried.

"…Maybe" Pox half turned away from him but Crypto didn't care.

"How's it feel huh? Pretty great isn't it?"

"I-it's…satisfactory." Pox cleared his throat slightly, feeling uncomfortable.

"Aw c'mon Poxy be honest!" Crypto said, hoping to get the truth out of his embarrassed mentor.

"Alright, I admit it!" Pox turned to face him again; the grey skin of his cheeks still stained with pink. "It's amazing. Like I'm a new person." he smiled a little.

Crypto grinned, "Hell yeah, now we need to ya a couple hot chikas and –"

"No, No Crypto!" Pox interrupted him, even more embarrassed now, "If you don't mind I would like to deal with this…situation, at my own pace."

Crypto frowned, "Pox you don't have a pace, at your rate you'll never get laid!"

"I do so have a pace! I will handle this myself, Thank you very much!"

"Alright, Geez!" "So what do you wanna do first? You've never been on earth in the flesh before."

Pox thought about it, "I …suppose I'll continue my research, try some of the strange food you bring home…Finally have that cup of coffee I've been wanting for years."

Crypto stared at him in disbelief "That's it?"

"What did you expect me to do?" Pox frowned a bit.

"To have a freakin life! Geez, Pox yer a hermit! You made a break through as a hologram, you got outside!"

"I had no choice, I had to help you and we don't have a Mothership!"

"So what now that yer alive, yer just gonna regress and hide indoors again? Let's go do some stuff!"

Pox looked out the window, "I'm not going out there! I don't want to get shot at!"

"Pox it's the 70's they only shoot ya if you start blowin'em up. Besides, they'll probably just think we're in costume cuz we work here, I get that a lot."

Pox twiddled his fingers nervously, "Well…alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to…"

He was cut off as Crypto grabbed his wrist and dragged him down stairs and outside into the cool, night air.

Pox glanced around a little nervously but quickly calmed down when he noticed none of the humans nearby seemed to care. He took a deep breath and smiled a little,"…You're right Crypto, this doesn't seem so bad."

"Told ya." Crypto let go of his wrist "So c'mon lets walk around a little, you can stretch your new legs."

"Well, alright. It does feel good to walk again, but let's try not to encounter too many humans."

"Gotcha." Crypto took Pox around town, showing him some of his favorite places. Now that he was living again and also not focusing on some part of the mission, Pox was able to appreciate Paradiso more for what it was rather than just taking it for a place that they extracted brains from. He began to understand why Crypto enjoyed it so much, there was a lot to do and with the humans ignoring them for the most part it almost felt like they fit in. Pox got so lost in his thoughts that he jumped at the sound of a woman screaming, Pox swallowed hard, imagining this was when the police showed up to gun them down but Crypto just smiled at her. "Relax doll face," "We're from the Space Dust Casino." He produced a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "Come and see us sometime, we'll show ya a good time that is out of this world."

She smiled, "Oh," she took the card, "Okay! Cool costumes by the way." She went off into a nearby club.

Pox just stared at Crypto for a moment; the way he handled that and how it turned out didn't even seem real. Crypto glanced over at him "What?"

"You…handled that very well."

"You sound surprised. How do ya think I've been keeping the humans off of our backs?"

"Well you've never been good at being subtle, I assumed you blew them up and new ones replaced them."

"Nah, that's plan B." he smiled.

Pox smiled a little too, "Well, let's call it a night Crypto, I think I've had enough humans for today."

"Alright, but we should get some food I'm starving."

Pox hadn't thought about food, he was so used to not eating all this time but now that Crypto brought it up he realized he was hungry too. "Sure, I should probably eat something too."

"Great we'll swing by Mike Doodle's on the way home!" he grinned.

"Doodle's? Why do humans bother with last names?" Pox half asked /half stated as he followed Crypto.

"I'm pretty sure it had something to do with avoiding copyright infringement, anyway it's a popular burger joint that serves up fast food with a side of guilt and awesome all rolled into one."

"Oh, alright, sounds interesting."

Crypto got them each a burger and some fries and took Pox home so they could eat in peace. Crypto sat down at a table after they got back up to their part of the casino and Pox sat across from him. Crypto handed him his food, "Try that Poxy." He grinned and started eating his own.

Pox watched Crypto a moment before reaching for his burger, unwrapping it and tentatively taking a bite. No sooner had he, and he, like Crypto and so many humans, fell under its irresistible spell. Crypto noticed "Good huh?"

Pox swallowed, "Amazing! I'm so jealous of you Crypto; I've missed out on so much!"

"Hey better late than never Poxy, least yer here now."

"You have a point." He agreed and the two engaged in friendly conversation until they had both finished eating and parted ways for the night to get some much deserved rest.


	4. It Came from Planet Furon

**Chapter 4: It Came from Planet Furon**

Over the next few days Crypto slowly introduced Pox to new things but was careful not to overwhelm his indoorsy commander. On a breezy Tuesday Pox was working in his lab, but had left the window open for some fresh air. He psychokinetically controlled a pen to write stuff down in a note book as he worked on a new weapon.

Crypto was getting ready to go out and find something to do but stopped in to see if Pox had anything planned instead. "Hiya Pox."

"Hello Crypto" he answered without looking up from his work, "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah, did ya need anything through?"

"No I don't believe I- wait, I do need you to get some more brains for me."

"Alright, will do. I'll see ya later Poxy." He turned and left.

Pox was left alone with his work which he didn't mind; he continued to develop the new weapon for the better part of the day. It was late into the afternoon when he heard the elevator. He figured Crypto had come back though he noticed it was early for him. He didn't look up from his notes as the lab door open, "What's the matter, no attractive females on the strip today?" he asked as a Furon came up behind him, answering him only by hitting him between the shoulders with the butt of his weapon and knocking him flat on the floor, his notes scattering everywhere. Pox was dazed as he comprehended what had happened, "What are you-?" he glance up slightly and quickly noticed the Furon staring back at him was not Crypto. He tried to get up but the Furon shot him in the lower back. Pox let out a cry of pain and the treacherous Furon pointed his gun at the side of Pox's head "Sorry Cryptosporidium, its just business."

A rush of panic flooded into Pox, he quickly used his psychokinetic power to throw the traitor back into the wall as hard as he could. He hit the wall roughly with a loud thud but got back up and quickly used his own psychokinesis to pull the heavy cloning chamber off the wall and let it fall on top of Pox, "There's no way he'll survive that!" the Furon grinned and used his jet pack to escape through the open window of the lab.

Crypto returned to the casino, about a half hour later, finishing off a soda he'd gotten at the movies and dumped the container in the trash as he headed to Pox's lab. "Hey Poxy you gotta see this new action movie they got out, the special effects are …"Crypto fell silent as he opened the door and found the lab such a mess. His mouth half opened as he surveyed it. "What the…!" he finally caught sight of Pox's hand sticking out from under the smashed cloning machine, "Pox!"

Crypto ran over and frantically used his PK to lift the broken machine off of his commander. Luckily for Pox the machine had been clunky as it had practically come apart when it fell and just barely failed to crush him, though it had hurt him pretty bad, he was all bruised up and then there was the shot to his lower back. Crypto recognized it was no human weapon that had done it as he knelt by his mentor and carefully grasped his wrist and checked for a pulse. To his relief he found he still had one but he didn't dare move him because of his back. "Pox?" he nudged him gently, "C'mon Poxy wake up…wake up!"

Pox slowly came to and gave a small whimper of pain as his feeling came back to him. He opened his eyes soon to see Crypto staring at him worriedly.

"He found his voice, though it was weakened, "Crypto…Thank Arkvoodle you found me."

"What happened Poxy? Who did this to you?"

"It was…a Furon!" He paused for a second as everything came back to him, "He thought I was you."

"Me?" Crypto was silent for a bit, why would a fellow Furon want to kill him? And what Furon would be stupid enough to mix him up with Pox? He shook off his thoughts, he had more important things to think of right now, "I'm sorry Pox" he was still worried, "I-I'll fix you up." He got some medical stuff and bandaged Pox's injuries as best he could, being very careful with his back. He needed to get him off the floor though, "…Can you move?"

"I don't think I can Crypto…"

"C'mon, You-You have to, I can't leave you on the floor like this." He tried helping Pox up who only cried out in pain again, "Crypto! Crypto stop! I can't!"

Crypto quickly let him back down and Pox panted heavily on the floor from pain, "Crypto…my legs won't move. I can feel them but I can't get them to move"

Crypto looked at him in horror, "Ya mean yer…paralyzed?"

"Not paralyzed, if I were I'd have no feeling, but it would seem I am crippled to some degree." His voice was sad, "It seems I'm doomed to be immobile."

"But, can't we fix it somehow?"

"How? I can't possibly operate on myself, and if we returned to the home world it would take us days to get there, it would still be too late."

Crypto looked down, he was right, but it bothered him, he felt terrible that Pox had suffered just because he wasn't there; all because of a mix up. Pox sensed Crypto's feelings and placed his hand on his, "It's alright Crypto."

"No it's not Damn it!" he burst out, "This is my fault Pox! That guy was after me and if I'd been here to kick his ass this wouldn't have happened to ya!"

Pox shook his head, "It's isn't your fault Crypto. We never could have foretold this coming, someone on the home world is plotting against us, and it's their fault."

"Then I'm gonna make them pay." Crypto growled, "But first you need to get better." He carefully lifted his mentor, trying hard not to hurt him too badly and carried Pox over to his bed and placed him in it gently, putting the covers over him.

"Rest up Pox, and if that slime ball comes back I'll rip him a new one with the Ion Detonator."

Pox had already passed out/fell asleep so he didn't really hear him. Crypto sighed and turned the lights off, letting him sleep but keeping an eye on him and the casino to make sure the assassin didn't return.

When it got late Crypto turned on the TV to keep himself awake, he still sort of blamed himself for what happened but his thoughts did turn to what Pox had said about the mix up. Why would someone from the home world want him dead? He didn't owe anyone money, or at least he didn't think he did. Maybe someone hated his guts…probably Hepatitis, that smug bastard. But even he wouldn't go that far. Still might be worth beating the crap out of him anyway. Crypto smiled a little at that.

He stayed awake the whole night but finally dozed off in the early morning after checking on Pox again. From then on he did everything he could to make sure he'd get better.


	5. Failure

**Chapter 5: Failure**

The assassin returned to the home world in a few days' time and landed in the capital city of Gorta. He headed into a large building after the guards permitted him inside and stopped at the end of a large room, facing the back of a chair stationed at a desk littered with military reports. "Well Typhus, did you kill Cryptosporidium?" The one in the chair asked without turning to face him.

"Yes" Typhus nodded, and I disabled the saucer's cloning machine so he can't come back till it's fixed. He was hard to find though. You didn't mention he was such a nerd, found him tinkering in a make shift lab."

"Lab... Typhus, what did he look like?"

The Furon assassin sensed he was in trouble "W-well he was skinny, wore robes and uh, had metal horns implanted in his head."

"YOU IDIOT!" the voice erupted with anger, but the Furon it belonged to still did not face him. That was Orthopox not Crypto! He had better not really be dead or you will join him!"

Typhus froze in fear, "I-I'm s-sorry…I-…"

"Get out of here before I have you arrested! You are fired and will receive no payment! Get out!"

Typhus turned and fled the building as fast as he could before things got any worse. He was glad to be fired; there was no way he would work for that psychopath any longer.


	6. Mission toArizona

**Chapter 6: Mission to…Arizona**

Crypto had barely left Pox's side over the time it took him to recover. He went to check on him in the morning one day and found Pox sitting up in bed, removing one of his bandages. He went over to him quickly "Pox are you sure yer okay enough for that?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Thanks to you I have recovered fairly quickly." He smiled, "Help me get this one off of my back."

Crypto nodded and removed the bandages carefully from where Pox had been shot, he was right; he was fully healed, though the wound had left him with a scar.

"I'm glad yer feeling better Pox."

"Me too, but now that I am we must get back to business, we have to find who is after us and why."

"And then disintegrate them into a million teeny tiny little pieces."

"Precisely!" Pox smiled a little vengefully.

Crypto was raring to go but he noticed Pox still looked tired, "Maybe you should rest some more first, you still look tired."

"It's true; I didn't sleep well last night." Pox admitted and sighed.

"Nightmare?" Crypto asked and Pox nodded, "Sort of, it's recurring… I'm on the verge of something important, when suddenly I can't finish my work, then everything changes and I'm surrounded by the war council, they're laughing at me, calling me a joke, a fraud. And… the Emperor orders my execution before I can explain, no matter how I try I can't speak to them and I feel like I'm suffocating… then I wake up."

"Geez Pox, sounds like our mission's startin to get to ya."

"Perhaps you're right." He sighed, "If we fail it; my dream could very well become a reality."

"But we won't fail, look how far we got already, you already restored our packages."

"That's true…"

"Right, don't be so hard on yerself. Get some more rest and we'll hunt down that little bastard later."

Pox nodded, "Okay, I'll try to get some more sleep."

"Alright" Crypto nodded, "I'll swing by the senior center then."

Pox tilted his head in confusion, "Whatever would you go there fo- Oh Crypto that's repulsive!"

"Huh?" Crypto looked both shocked and confused at Pox's reaction.

"You developed some kind of sick new fetish didn't you?"

"Wha-What? No!" Crypto exclaimed, "Damn Pox I'm not that dirty minded! EW!"

"Then why the senior center?"

"To get you a freakin wheel chair, ya can't walk!"

"Oh…" Pox was a little surprised, "you're right… I will have to build myself a new cerebral chair but until then I'll have to get around the lab somehow."

"Exactly" Crypto nodded, "I don't think you want me to carry you everywhere do you?"

"No, I wouldn't care much for that."

"Thought so, I'll be back soon then."

"Thank you Crypto."

"Sure thing." He turned to leave, and then paused; wondering if this was a good idea. What if he left and Pox was attacked again. Pox could sense his unsurely "It's alright Crypto I'll be fine."

"…Okay." He was only moderately reassured but he took Pox's word for it and left.

Pox watched him leave and tried getting a bit more sleep. He opened his eyes a couple hours later to find Crypto back at his side like a loyal dog. He was sitting on the edge of the bed watching a small TV across the room with the volume down very low. Pox had become accustomed to Crypto's presence in his room over the course of his recovery and it no longer disturbed his sleep or bothered him. He had to be honest with himself, he felt safer even, knowing that anyone who walked through that door would be blasted to oblivion. He stretched a little as he sat up, "How long have you been back?"

Crypto looked over and shut off the TV, "Not long, I pestered some humans on the way back." He got up and moved a wheel chair close to the bed, "All the shriveled prunes in the senior center say this model's the most comfortable and I don't think anyone died in it."

"I certainly hope not!" Pox frowned at the thought of that but was quickly jolted back out of his thoughts as Crypto suddenly picked him up and put him in the wheel chair. He was a little surprised at that but adjusted himself a bit, "This will work fine till I build my new one. Hopefully that won't take long. Luckily I have the blue prints still, they're somewhere in my files but I'll need your help gathering parts."

"No sweat, what do ya need first? And make it difficult I'm itchin to destroy somethin."

"Patience Crypto, let me check the blue print first." He used his psychokinesis to make the wheel chair roll to the lab, Crypto followed close behind. The lab looked better than before the papers had been picked up and the cloning pieces moved out, it was clean too.

"I tried straightening it up a bit." Crypto said, "It looked worse than my room."

"Nothing could look worse than your room. I'm shocked you haven't gotten lost in there. Did you ever find that gerbil you had in there?"

"Not yet, but I laid out some potato chips as bait. I'll have him in no time."

"If we don't get ants first," Pox said as he checked the blue prints. "Here, this should be a challenge for you; I need something I can convert into a self-stabilizing power cell. The humans have been experimenting with energy weapons that they hope will lead to leaps and bounds in technology. All of their equipment is at a military base in Arizona. Bring me the equipment and destroy their research. This will be a win-win for us as it will keep the human's weaponry right where it is."

"Sounds like a gas, can I blow the whole place up?"

"After you get the equipment I need you can level the base to your heart's content, just don't crash the saucer."

"Yes sir Poxy sir!" Crypto rushed outside and to the saucer, taking off soon and heading to the military base.

The base was heavily defended; no sooner was the saucer spotted and a volley of missiles shot out of several SAM launchers around the base. Crypto maneuvered the saucer around them as best he could and gave them a taste of the old Death Ray. "Hell yeah I was missin this!" He obliterated the base's defenses and then landed the saucer, going out on foot to take out the rest of the now scrambling soldiers with the Disintegrator Ray. As he finished off the last of them he contacted Pox telepathically.

"Hey there's a bunch of buildings here Pox which one is the stuff in?"

Pox looked up from his work and checked his computer monitor, "It should be to your left in the building with the dome roof."

Crypto spotted it and headed inside. He looked around; mostly just scientists were present, no big deal. He searched the place, frying the occasional soldier and soon found what Pox wanted. He used his PK to pick up the equipment and placed an Ion Detonator near the papers and computers. He quickly ran for the exit as the detonator counted down from 10, reaching the door and getting outside just as it made short work of the scientists' research into the energy weapons.

"Crypto I'm detecting multiple military vehicles heading your way, the humans must have called in back up."

"Right on, time to crack some monkey skulls!" Crypto tossed the equipment into the saucer's Abducto Beam and followed it up into the saucer. He got it up off of the ground just as the tanks and armored personal carriers rolled onto the scene. Crypto primed the Death Ray and began destroying everything in his path.

"The only thing that would make this better is a musical montage."

"Like Beethoven?" Pox asked

"No like something good, like the stuff I got playin at the casino."

"That's not music, it's barely noise!"

Crypto used the Death Ray to destroy one of the buildings, "Hey Pox do ya think they'll ever make a movie out of this?"

"About a temperamental alien destroying humans for the sheer pleasure of it? They did, it's called War of the Globes or some such nonsense."

"Oh yeah, I know what yer talking about, Martians and the common cold kills em or something… do ya think the Blisk were offended by that movie?"

"I sincerely hope so!"

Crypto grinned as he leveled the last building, "Hell yeah that was fun!"

"Excellent work Crypto! Now return to the Space Dust so I can get to work on the power cell."

Crypto directed the saucer back home, landing it and bringing the equipment up to the lab before going and crashing on the couch.


	7. Ashes to Ashes, Space to Dust

**Chapter 7: Ashes to Ashes, Space to Dust**

Over the course of the next week or so Pox sent Crypto on a series of missions to retrieve the components for his new cerebral chair and once he had everything he quickly finished it. It looked pretty much the same as his old one and he was happy with that. He moved himself into it carefully and attached the two spiked supports to his head. He looked at himself in the reflection of one of the computer screens that was currently turned off and then glanced around his lab "It almost feels like going back in time." He half whispered to himself.

Crypto burst in at that point, "Hey Pox! Lookin good baby, you gotta come downstairs there's chicks everywhere in the casino, it's like a dream."

"Until the present slaps you in the face" Pox muttered.

"Huh?" Crypto asked, confused.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm sorry Crypto I can't join your little monkey dream, I have to do some work on the saucer, and I'm still trying to figure out this whole situation with the assassin, I want to know who sent him."

"Well it's been almost a month, maybe it was some kinda mistake."

"Crypto, an assassin Furon came all the way here to section 13, specifically to this casino, in this city out of thousands and knew his target by name, your name. Does that sound like a mistake?"

"Yeah okay you got a point but if his mission failed then how come he hasn't come back yet?"

"I'm not sure, that's part of what I'm trying to figure out. But before I can dwell on it I need to repair your Auto-cloning chamber in your saucer, it seems before the assassin came to "whack" you he disabled it. Also, the Sonic Boom weapon is making that horrible rattling noise again; I think the sound emitter is loose."

"Right, well don't work too hard Poxy." Crypto waved and started to head out before his mentor could drag him into helping.

Pox frowned at that, knowing why he took off so fast. He grumbled a little as he finished up his work upstairs and headed down, he needed to get past the casino's main floor and filthy humans to get outside to the saucer. He got down the stairs and observed some of the gamblers for a moment, he could see Crypto by the bar chatting up a couple females. Pox frowned with disapproval but soon caught himself glancing over as another female who walked near him caught his eye. He watched her for a moment till he snapped back to reality, what was he thinking? He had worked to do; he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by women, and human women at that! He hurried outside, disciplining himself silently as he made his way to the saucer which disengaged its cloaking mechanism when he got close enough. He used a hand held device to put the saucer in maintenance mode, it responded by lowering itself close to the ground, within better reach for Pox, its legs moving outward more to support it, it almost looked like it was ready to pounce, it then deactivated itself and Pox got to work.

When it started to get really late and the girls Crypto had his fun with headed out he thought it would probably be best to retrieve Pox otherwise he'd most likely stay out there all night long. He fixed his clothes a little and headed outside, he was about to round the corner and greet Pox in his usual way when he heard him talking. He paused and pressed himself against the wall, listening in as Pox berated the saucer.

"What else could possibly be wrong with you?" Pox hissed a bit irritated as he spoke to the saucer despite it being inanimate. "I've checked everything and you're still reading an error!"

He sighed, wiping some green fluid off his hands with a cloth; he placed his hand on the saucer's hull. "Just admit it, you're outdated, you're tired, you're not ready for all the changes going on around you… just like me." Pox looked down a little.

Crypto was surprised to hear that, he peered around the corner slightly, watching as his mentor ran his hands over his face tiredly.

He wasn't about to let Pox dwell on that kind of thinking. He came around the corner, pretending like he hadn't heard anything, "Hey Poxtastic!"

Pox jumped slightly, startled, "Oh hello Crypto…" He wondered how much he'd heard but given the way Crypto acted he assumed he hadn't heard any of what he said, "Did your 'lady friends' go home?"

"Yeah, you know it's pretty late Poxy you should take a break, ya kind look like crap."

"I would love to Crypto but I still have so much to…"

"And you'll do it," the warrior interrupted him "just don't do it right now.

"I don't know…" Pox said unsurely as he looked back at the saucer.

"Aw c'mon Poxy we'll go get a beer."

"You know I don't drink." Pox frowned

"Okay fine soda, whatever you want, whatever nerds drink."

"Well, alright." Pox finally gave in. He switched the saucer back to its normal landing mode and cloaked it again. "Lead the way Crypto."

Crypto grinned and nodded, taking Pox to a small diner where he figured he'd be more comfortable, instead of a full on restaurant, and they got some soda and a little food, afterward they ended up in a nearby park, wandering around. It was so late by then that no humans were around that area and so the two Furons practically had the park to themselves. Pox's spirits had lifted significantly since Crypto had convinced him to go with him and there was a content smile on his face.

It wasn't long before Crypto broke the silence that swirled around them, "Hey Poxy, you ever miss the home world?"

"Indeed I do, mostly combing through the Archives of the library, the human books don't hold my attention as well, though occasionally I like to amuse myself with their scientific 'discovers', it's quite humorous."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well they only discovered the helical structure of DNA not long after we first arrived here."

"Really? Even I know that and I hate science stuff."

"Don't I know it." Pox laughed.

Crypto wasn't sure what to say now, he looked around and brought a stick to him with his psychokinesis and pointed it at Pox with a goofy smile on his face "On guard Poxy!"

Pox blinked in surprise and stared at him with bewilderment "I beg your pardon?"

Crypto suddenly thrust a second stick into Pox's hand, "C'mon science boy let's see what you got." He grinned and hit Pox's stick, moving around him.

"Is this some sort of new modern dance I haven't heard of?"

"Nah, it's fencing, ya know swordplay."

"An inferior monkey sport? I hardly think I'd ever be reduced to such childish…" but before Pox could rant Crypto hit his stick again "C'mon you can do better than that!" he prodded him with his stick.

"Crypto I don't want to play this primitive game!" Pox hissed, pushing Crypto's stick away from his shoulder.

The warrior just grinned; he liked pushing Poxy's buttons "What's the matter Poxy? Afraid I'll show you up?"

"No!" Pox said quickly, "I'm just not going to humor such behavior! And you…" he stopped Crypto from prodding him again with his mental abilities by knocking the stick out of his hand and pushing him onto his butt with merely a thought, "Should go out and gather some brains, dawn is coming and the monkeys will be on the streets again." Pox tossed his own stick away.

Crypto got up and dusted himself off "Touché' Poxy." He smirked and got out the Disintegrator Ray, "Right, time to kick ass and take brains! See ya later Pox" he ran off to cause trouble.

Pox watched him leave and smiled a little as he shook his head. Crypto certainly knew how to take his mind off of things. He directed his chair back to the casino, getting inside just as the sun threw its gaze against the Space Dust. Pox left the main area and went upstairs. He took a short nap to rest his tired eyes and then got back to his lab to continue his work. The day was peaceful enough; Pox could hear the humans losing at the tables and the slots, increasing their profits. He spent the better part of the day copying his resent notes into a portable device he'd made some time ago. Since the loss of the Mothership and his research he was now careful to back up his work. He finished that up about the early afternoon and started putting an upgrade together for Crypto's jet pack. It was around this time he recognized the low hum of a scout ship's engines outside, that was odd since he knew Crypto had left to get brains on foot. Before he could investigate he was startled by the quaking of the building as the red beam of a Death Ray tore into the side of the Space Dust. Pox's eyes widened, he quickly gathered a few things and contacted Crypto telepathically; "Crypto get back here we're under attack!"

"What?" Crypto responded in surprise "By who?" he asked as he turned away from a dead human and started headed back. But he received no further response from Pox and that worried him. He used his jet pack to travel faster across the city, hoping to get there in time.

Pox meanwhile had not been able to answer Crypto because the Death Ray's beam ripped through his lab, just barely missing the panicked Furon commander, coming close enough to make him sweat from its heat before it had to be recharged. Pox floated his chair down stairs as fast as he could as the building groaned and crumbled around him. The humans were just as terrified as he was, scrambling to escape the casino before it was too late. Pox pushed past them and used his mental powers to move a fallen beam out of his way. He reached the emergency exit of the building just as the ceiling began to cave in. As he got outside the light from the afternoon blinded him momentarily, he frantically looked around and found a place to hide, not knowing how many of the attackers there were and not waiting around to find out.

Crypto came around the corner, the Space Dust coming into his view just as the building gave way and crumbled, succumbing to its fate at the hands of the molten Death Ray. Crypto watched in horror as it fell, his home, his dream, gone in the blink of an eye. A blend of emotions welled up inside him: sadness, defeat, but most of all, rage. He caught sight of the attacking saucer landing and its occupant, a Furon wearing a black warrior suit, descend from the Abducto Beam. Crypto burned with anger. The Disintegrator Ray was nearly out of ammo so he switched it for the Zap-o-matic and clutched it with an iron grasp as he charged toward the assailant.

The assassin Furon looked around, surveying the damage he had caused. He was armed with the outdated standard issue Zap-o-matic similar to the one Crypto had back when he landed on Turnupseed farm all those years ago. He walked closer to the remains of the casino, seeming to be looking for something or someone. He was startled by the sudden, rage filled war cry Crypto let out behind him. He turned and his eyes widened to see the charging warrior clone. He quickly fired on him but his standard small arc of electricity hardly phased Crypto's shields. In a panic he turned and tried to run for his ship. Crypto fired his own Zap-o-matic, the superior, upgraded lighting easily penetrating the assailant's shields and knocking him clean on his back mere inches from his saucer. Crypto planted his boot on the Furon's chest and pointed his gun in his face. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded angrily, baring his sharp teeth at the attacker.

The assassin Furon stared into the electric barrel of Crypto's gun, then up at him, "Sepsis."

"You just sent my dream crashing to the ground you son-of-a-bitch. Now you better tell me who the hell sent you before I get really mad and break out the Anal Probe!"

Sepsis gulped, "A-admiral Cyclosporiasis sent me! He said to destroy your base, take you out and destroy your saucer!"

"Huh?" Crypto was in shock, "That's a lie!" he growled, "Why would the Admiral want me d…" He paused as Sepsis produced an official document from his pocket, "H-here's the order, see for yourself."

Crypto snatched the paper from him and skimmed it; it was signed by the Admiral and everything. His mouth fell half way open, "Buut why would…" he was cut off as Sepsis shoved the distracted Crypto off of him, he leapt to his feet and quickly got into his saucer, taking off. Crypto got to his feet, "Hey, get back here you bastard I'm not done with you!" He switched to his Disintegrator Ray and shot the last few rounds he had at the fleeing ship, it flared on the shields of the craft, hardly making a dent and the ship was soon out of range, leaving the planet in a hurry. Crypto emptied his clip in its direction anyway, growling angrily. When the Disintegrator Ray clicked to indicate the ammo count was fully depleted he threw the gun to the ground in front of him violently "Mother F…" He then remembered Pox and looked back at the fallen building. Had Pox been inside still? He picked up his gun again and ran to the wreckage of his precious casino, combing the rubble and coughing as the dust from the destruction still hung in the air, sparkling in the afternoon sun, "Pox!" he called out in desperation, the silence and the destruction making him fear his mentor was gone, that he was completely alone. "Pox!" he called again only louder. "Crypto?" a familiar, timid sounding voice came from a nearby ally way and Crypto turned to look down it; he approached it carefully and quickly recognized the low hum of Pox's cerebral chair. "Pox… you okay?"

Pox hovered out from behind a dumpster and some boxes he'd been using to hide himself; he looked utterly terrified and was shaking. "…I've…been better." His voice quivered.

"For a second there I thought you were-" Crypto started but couldn't make himself finish the sentence.

"...I had the same feeling when I was fleeing the building." Pox admitted, "The Furon that attacked… is he?"

"Gone," Crypto growled, "freaking bastard got away!"

"Did you-"Pox forced his voice to stop shaking along with him "Find out what he was after?"

"Oh…yeah." Crypto handed Pox the paper without another word. Pox took it and read it carefully, unable to believe the signature at the bottom. He quickly read the whole thing again and his voice once again quivered out of his control when Cyclosporiasis signature finally sunk in, "…The Admiral…"

"Yeah" Crypto sighed, "Guess I did somethin' wrong or uh, stopped bein' useful."

"That's preposterous Crypto; you're not useless till I say so!" Pox hissed, "The Admiral is light years away and he cannot make that judgment, not before hearing my side of it!"

Crypto blinked, staring at Pox for a moment, surprised by how suddenly he defended him despite the order of a superior.

"We're not going to jump to any conclusions" Pox said sternly, "We are, however, going to get to the bottom of this."

"But how?"

"I'm not sure yet, but before we do anything else we need to leave Paradiso. They know we're here and we're without a base of operations. We need to flee the city and get somewhere we won't be found so quickly."

"You wanna run away?" Crypto growled

"Think of it as a tactical retreat so we can come up with a plan."

Crypto looked back at the rubble for a moment"…Fine."

"Good, let's get to the saucer, we have to get rid of all evidence we were here, if any survived, I want you to use the Quantum Deconstructor to make sure it's gone."

Crypto nodded but said nothing as he made his way to the saucer, Pox followed him up inside and hovered in the back of the cockpit as Crypto got the saucer off of the ground, he winced as he eyed the remains of the Space Dust, it looked even worse from the air. He primed the Quantum Deconstructor and his finger hovered over the trigger as he silently said goodbye to his dream one last time before pulling it and letting the cloud of thermo-nuclear energy decimate the remains of the Space Dust leaving nothing behind but dust and ash. Crypto groaned and hit his fists against the saucer's dash board in dismay.

Pox felt terrible, he hovered over and placed his hand gently on Crypto's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, "I'm sorry Crypto…"

"Save it!" Crypto moved his shoulder away from his mentor causing Pox to pull his hand back, "Someone's gonna pay for this if it's the last thing I do!" "Now where are we goin?" He asked as he cloaked the saucer.

Pox sighed slightly and directed Crypto south.


	8. 1970: A Space Breakfast

**Chapter 8: 1970: A Space Breakfast**

The two Furons hardly said a word as Crypto flew the saucer south of Paradiso.

Pox wished he could make Crypto feel better, but he wasn't sure how to and so remained silent until they came upon a small town, "That's it" Pox said quickly.

Crypto looked through the windshield of the saucer at a nearby sign that said "Welcome to Floodlight." Floodlight?" Crypto frowned, "That's just stupid! Who the hell names their town Floodlight?"

"It's got some gold mining history, I think the name had something to do with gold being so hard to find they'd need a light or something along those lines." Pox said casually.

"Hmph, looks like a piece of crap, can't we go somewhere else?"

"No Crypto" Pox was a little irritated "It's out of the way, small, and thus the perfect cover. The Admiral and his lackeys won't find us here for some time."

"Fine" Crypto grumbled, unhappy, "Just tell me where to plant the saucer."

Pox directed him to land in back of a small restaurant. Once the saucer was landed Crypto shut it down and kept it cloaked. He then went over to the cot in the back of the ship and flopped on it.

Pox stared at him a moment, "Don't you want to take a look around?"

"No" Crypto growled, still sore about the casino. "I gonna get some sleep."

"…Alright then," Pox said quietly, "I'll leave you alone." He went back up near the cockpit while Crypto pouted. When he was sure he'd fallen asleep, he left the saucer and went to take care of a few things.

Crypto awoke to the sounds of construction the next morning. He groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He got up and peered out of the saucer's windshield to see a construction crew converting the small restaurant they had landed behind into a larger, spaced themed one. "What the …" Crypto whispered to himself as he used the saucer's Abducto Beam to go down to the ground and take a closer look. He soon spotted Pox off to the side hovering near one of the construction crew's trucks. He walked past the working humans who acted like puppets doing their master's bidding which he found, after approaching his mentor, was not too far off as Pox had the construction workers under a mass hypnosis power. He wasn't sure if he should bother Pox or not for fear of breaking his concentration, he stopped near him and glanced back at the workers.

Pox sensed Crypto's presence and opened his eyes slowly, "Hello Crypto." He said quietly, his voice sounded a little tired. "Did you sleep well?"

Crypto looked back at him, "Yeah, What's with all the fancy construction Poxy?"

"Well, last night after you fell asleep I went looking for a suitable base of operations and concluded the restaurant was best. Using mental control I forced the owner to sell his establishment to a Mr. Otto Paxton, which is actually myself, and then placed this construction crew under hypnosis so that I could get them to work for free and considerably less donuts."

"Otto?" Crypto snickered.

"I was in a hurry!" Pox barked.

"Whatever you say Ottopox." he grinned, "So what kinda restaurant is it?"

Pox frowned slightly at his comment but maintained his patience, "A breakfast restaurant with a space theme so we don't have to disguise ourselves or the saucer. While we're feeding the locals "flying saucer" pancakes and "meteor muffins" I will use the profits to acquire the necessary equipment I need to reestablish my lab and build a communication device I can use to contact the Admiral and get everything sorted out."

"Why can't we just steal the stuff for the communication device like we did in the second game?"

"Don't you remember the near disaster it was to defend it on top of the tower? Imagine that, only in addition to the humans Arkvoodle knows how many Furon assassins it could attract. I would rather not blow our cover."

"Oh yeah, right." Crypto frowned, "So yer gonna have me slave away at a stove all day to feed grits to some trashy monkeys!"

"For profit!" Pox grinned, it won't be so bad Crypto, and it's temporary."

"Great, that makes me feel loads better." he grumbled, "I'm gonna go look around and see what you got us into." He headed off into town and Pox shook his head, keeping the humans at work for the next two days straight till the place was finished. It now had 2 floors: the restaurant on the ground floor and a small apartment upstairs for Crypto and Pox to live in. Everything was space themed and the saucer was placed out in front of the restaurant next to a sign that looked like a ringed planet with the restaurant name: "Interstellar Place Of Pancakes" in red neon, much to Crypto's dismay as he wanted to call it "Space Creatures" which Pox said was "Ridiculous and would never take off."

Once the restaurant opened they quickly caught the attention of the breakfast and brunch crowds of all ages, just as Pox had hope for. Crypto spent his days bustling around the kitchen till the restaurant closed at 5, at which point he usually went in search of something to do. Pox on the other hand stayed upstairs at all times, never coming down onto the restaurant floor as he built a small lab for himself on one half of his room which was the sizes of two bedrooms. It didn't take long though before Crypto had a hard time keeping up with cooking the food and delivering it too as Pox had set a strict rule of no psychokinesis around the customers to avoid scaring them off. Crypto got fed up trying to keep up and finally went to whine at Pox after the restaurant's closing time one night. He headed upstairs and peered into his commander's room/lab. Pox was busy drawing a blue print for the communication device.

"Poxy, we gotta talk." Crypto said as he strolled in and sat on Pox's bed.

Pox looked up from his drawing, "For the last time Crypto we are not naming the two sausage sizes the big and little dipper."

"I still think it's funny." Crypto frowned, "But I actually wanted to talk to ya about the fact that while I'm bustin' my ass all day not destroyin' stuff yer sitting up here eatin' bon bons!"

Pox glared at him, "Is that so? For your information I have been up here since we opened this accursed waffle den establishing what I need to even begin designing a Communication Array to contact the Admiral and get you off the hook before someone else from the home world, comes barreling out of the atmosphere to pop you like the little pustule you are!"

Crypto stared at his mentor in shock; normally Pox's anger didn't jump beyond his control like that so quickly.

Pox looked at Crypto's startled expression and immediately regretted what he'd said, "I'm sorry Crypto; I didn't mean that."

"Y-yeah well, I didn't mean the whole bon bon thing either." Crypto said as he recovered from the shock.

"I've just been very stressed lately" Pox admitted," I didn't intend to take it out on you. This situation has me very anxious. I feel like at any moment another Death Ray is going to burn through that wall and incinerate me if I don't keep working."

Crypto could see Pox begin to look more worn down as he spoke. "When's the last time ya slept Poxy?"

Pox blinked, trying to remember, "…I took an hour nap shortly before we lost the Space Dust."

"Geez Pox that was like 2 weeks ago no wonder yer all strung out."

"I don't have time for sleep," he sighed.

"Well make time!" Crypto insisted, "You get any more crabby yer gonna turn into a Blisk! Is that what you want?"

"Of course I don't want that! I can't even look at seafood because of those space lobsters."

"Good, then get some freakin' sleep."

"Alright, alright I will." Pox gave in, "What is it you wanted to talk about though?" he asked as he put his stuff away.

"Oh yeah, I need some help in the restaurant, it's hard to keep up with taking orders, cooking and delivering food with no PK."

Pox thought about it, "Well, I suppose it would be plausible to obtain a "waiter"."

"Can it be a waitress instead?" Crypto grinned, "A stacked one?"

"I suppose so if you can put your work before your libido. I hereby grant you permission to hire a female human, ONE female human."

"I'll be sure to find a hot one, rawr." Crypto purred.

"Yes, yes just be sure she remains oblivious to your true identity; don't give her any reason to think you're not in costume."

"You got it Pox." he smirked, "So how do I do it? Go around town lookin' for a good one?"

"No need to, with the lack of sufficient business establishments in this town you need only put up a sign in the window that says "waitress wanted" and they should flock to you in droves."

"Yeah, cept there's not enough people in the whole town to make a drove!" Crypto complained.

"Trust me Crypto," Pox assured him, "put up the sign and they will come."

"Fine, I'll let you know how it goes." He headed back downstairs and Pox moved his chair to his bed and managed to get himself onto it with some difficulty. He pulled the covers over himself as he lay down and closed his tired eyes. His exhausted body slowly relaxing until sleep finally greeted him like an old friend.


	9. Invasion of the Waffle Server

**Chapter 9: Invasion of the Waffle Server**

Crypto placed a large sign in the front window of the restaurant like Pox told him and the very next day 3 young ladies came into the place hoping for a job. The first didn't catch Crypto's fancy as she was far to plain. The second one was attractive but she was clumsy and unintelligent even for a human and Crypto could only imagine Pox's anger if he hired someone who would likely drop things and break dishes. The third one, however, caught his eye. She was a beautiful brunette with a reddish tint in her hair and pretty green eyes. She wore flared pants and a tight colorful shirt that showed off her "features" quite well. Crypto grinned as his thoughts drifted elsewhere then the interview, "Hiya hot stuff you here about the job?"

"Yes" She smiled a little nervously, "You're the boss?"

"Not exactly cupcake, he's not really available. I'm the chef."

"Oh, okay." She sat down across from him." I'm Angela"

"Names Crypto." he smiled, "So yer interested in working here huh?"

"Yes, I'm a little bit of a science fiction fanatic, I love aliens and space themed places."

"Be still my heart." Crypto smiled seductively, "When can ya start doll face?"

"Uh, tomorrow, if that's alright."

"That's perfect hon, there's an apron in the kitchen ready and waiting for ya."

"Great," she smiled, "then I will see you tomorrow!"

"Bright and early baby," Crypto purred and ogled her as she walked away. He sat there entranced for a few moments after she was gone before getting up and going upstairs, leaning on the door frame of Pox's room.

Pox felt his presence and turned around, eyeing him momentarily. "That smug look on your face can only indicate you found a female that meets your lustfully high standards."

Crypto couldn't wipe the grin off his face, "Oh yeah, she's a hot one Poxy!"

"I suppose she's "hair-brained" and clumsy too" Pox sighed.

"Nah I told that one to hit the road thought it'd be best."

"Amazing, you were able to see past your urges to realize that."

"Yeah well, all I could think about was how much you'd be bitching about broken dishes if I hired her."

"Hmm," Pox frowned slightly at his comment, "so who did you hire then?"

"Her name's Angela, she's a science fiction nerd."

"Huh?"

"She digs aliens and space stuff big time, oh yeah, I think yer gonna like her Poxy."

"I don't plan on having any contact with her what so ever. She is your responsibility. If she turns out to be a disaster it will be entirely your fault."

"Geez, fine Pox, you really know how to kill a mood." Crypto pouted, "Ya outta try to have a little more contact with humans sometime, some of em aren't that bad."

"No human can be trusted Crypto." Pox said sternly, "The Majestic, the KGB and that overdressed tea cookie Ponsenby all proved that."

"That's what I'm talking about yer so freakin' paranoid, it ain't healthy Pox, with all yer worryin' yer gonna get constipated."

"Pah! That's ridiculous Crypto. You had better not go native; our mission is of the utmost importance and must go on unhindered."

"Don't worry about that, I like blowin' stuff up too much."

"Good, now if you feel like torturing some humans I could use a few more brains. I cannot start on the communication device till the parts I ordered arrive."

"Fine, not that there's many good brains around here anyway." he sighed, grabbing his gun and heading out. It was a cool night as now it was into October. Crypto terrorized a few humans, getting the brains Pox wanted but after a while his thoughts drifted back to the Admiral, what could he have done that would upset him from that far away? Could he have found out about how much he liked some of the human stuff? But if so how would he have found out unless it was included in the last report Pox… Crypto thought a moment, what if Pox had told the Admiral he was going native? Would they react that strongly? He shook his head, no, Pox wouldn't tell them that, even if he did document almost everything… or would he?

Crypto growled to himself, "Damn it Crypto you moron, don't think like that! Pox wouldn't say anything!" Still the question nagged at the back of his mind, he had to know for sure, and he had to find out the truth. He quickly headed back to the restaurant and went upstairs, going into Pox's room but not finding him there. He looked around a little before creeping over to the computer and sitting down, looking at the long list of files that Pox had, most of them containing stuff pertaining to the mission, things on humans and science information Crypto didn't understand. He scrolled down and found one labeled "report copies" and opened it. He found the most recent entry and was about to open it when his hand was suddenly unable to move. He felt like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar as his mentor hovered over and spoke in an irritated, yet unnervingly calm voice, like a parent might just before grounding their child, "Having fun Crypto?"

Crypto swallowed hard and turned to face his commander but immediately wished he hadn't. Pox had a glint of rage in his eyes as he clenched his sharp teeth together.

"I-I was uh-just…" Crypto fumbled over his words, just wishing Pox would yell at him already, but surprisingly he noticed the anger in his mentor's eyes simmer down significantly before he spoke in only a very irritated tone "Do you realize Crypto that had you been anyone else, anyone, Furon or human I would break you in half for this?"

Crypto nodded a little.

"I detest this kind of invasion of my privacy above all else!" Pox hissed

"I-I know Poxy…m'sorry."

Pox sighed, unable to stay angry with the warrior. "Just don't do it again, what in the name of Arkvoodle were you looking for anyway?"

"Yer last report to the Admiral…" He admitted.

"Whatever for?" Pox asked, confused.

"Well you...warned me about the whole going native thing a lot of times and now with the attacks and all I thought maybe you let it slip to-" Crypto's voice trailed off as he noticed the hurt expression on Pox's face.

"Crypto…" Pox started quietly, "how could you think that I-"

"I know!" Crypto interrupted, hating himself more every minute, "I'm sorry Pox; I know it was stupid to think that but… but what could I possibly have done huh? The last person I could ever think would turn me in is you but something's not addin' up and-"

"Crypto!" Pox stopped him, "Crypto relax; I understand."

He blinked in surprise, "You do?"

"Yes" Pox nodded, "You're worried, and so desperate to find an answer that everyone is a suspect till you know for sure."

"…Yeah, but uh, how did you…?"

"You recall telling me that I'm that paranoid? I'm familiar with what you're doing. When things go wrong I suspect all sorts of people till I get to the bottom of the situation."

"Oh."

"What offends me most is that you didn't ask me directly, I wouldn't keep such things from you Crypto, you should know that after all these years."

Crypto looked down a little, "Guess I wasn't thinkin'."

"It's alright, I forgive you Crypto." Pox waved it off with his hand, "Now, can I get to my computer please?"

"Oh yeah, sure." He moved out of his way, he entered a few things into one of his hundreds of files. "Did you get the brains I asked for?"

"I got a couple but hardly anyone's out tonight, this town's too damn small it's got no night life." Crypto pouted.

"I spotted a lit up sign for a casino/bar the other night, oh, what the name…Gold Clump Casino or something like that. Why don't you try there?"

"Alright, it's about time there was something interesting in town. I'll go check it out."

"Good." Pox said as he got what he needed to extract the DNA from the brains, "And Crypto, try not to worry so much would you? If you take that away from me what will I do?" he smiled.

"Gotcha Poxy." Crypto grinned and headed out again, feeling better and also now reminded how lucky he was to have Pox as his commander, other Furons would never be so lenient, or keep his secrets for that matter.


	10. My Favorite Furon

**Chapter 10: My Favorite Furon**

In the early morning hours Crypto awoke to a sharp banging sound in his head, he groaned as the noise only increased the headache from his hangover. It took a moment before he realized the banging was not in his head but at his door. He growled a little, "Whaat?"

"Crypto the restaurant opens in 10 minutes; get out of bed!" Pox nagged

"10 minutes? That's great, I got 5 to lay here and regret last night."

"You're hung over aren't you? I thought you said you were going to cut back!"

"Yes mommy dearest," he hissed as he got out of bed, "but it doesn't happen overnight ya know!"

"Well this should sober you up; your new waitress will be here any moment for her first shift. Get down there and get her working so she doesn't come looking for you! I don't want her up here!"

"Alright fine just quit yellin' already it's like a knife to the side of my head!"

"It serves you right for being so foolish!" Pox remarked before going back to his lab.

Crypto grumbled and got dressed, not bothering with his appearance too much and heading downstairs, he unlocked the restaurant doors and got the kitchen ready to go. He really wasn't in the mood to cook all day with his headache but his attitude changed almost instantly as Angela nearly glided into the kitchen and put on her apron, "Morning Crypto!" she smiled, washing her hands, "Am I too early?"

Crypto was silent for a moment as he took in her beauty, his headache practically vanishing all together.

"Crypto?" she asked again and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

He blinked, "Uh, no not at all doll face, yer, just in time."

"Great, maybe you should have some coffee quick, wouldn't want to space out like that when you're frying eggs."

"Right, uh, good idea." He grinned

The next week or so went by fairly well, Angela fit in to the restaurant perfectly and she worked well with Crypto who spent any free time he had gawking at her when she wasn't looking. She was friendly and content with her job though she did occasionally ask about her mysterious employer to which Crypto quickly made an excuse as to why he was never available, usually saying something along the lines of him being unsociable. It was on a quiet Sunday afternoon though that Pox called Crypto upstairs telepathically. He left the kitchen when he got a chance and headed up to Pox's room, by then he had the Communication Array's base completed but not the main components as he was waiting on another part. "What's up Pox?" Crypto asked when he walked in.

"How are things going down there?" he asked as he turned to face Crypto.

"Kinda slow, Sundays are like that once noon hits."

"Good, a part I'm waiting for is back ordered, do me a favor and go get me a few brains quickly, I'm sure "Angela" can handle things for a couple hours."

"Uh okay, sure." Crypto got his gun I'll get a few from that group of houses down the street."

"Actually I want you to go to a place north and slightly east of here called "Rock City."

"Rock City? What for?"

"It would seem that the low population in this town is causing people to become suspicious of all the "disappearances" we're causing. I don't want the humans onto our presence. This "Rock City" has a much higher population density and they shouldn't miss a few humans here and there as much."

Crypto smiled, "Right on, I'll reduce ol'Rock City to gravel!" He headed back downstairs and went into the kitchen where Angela was "Hey hot stuff I gotta go ext-er-pick up a couple things, think you can keep an eye on the place till I get back?"

Angela smiled, happy that Crypto was trusting her with the place, "No problem, I'll take care of everything."

"I know you will doll face." He grinned "I should be back before closing time but start the clean up without me just in case." He ran outside and got in the saucer, being sure to keep it cloaked so it wasn't heard or seen by anyone and flew off to get brains.

Angela tended to the customers for the rest of the shift. Crypto still wasn't back when it got close to closing time but she figured he would be walking in any minute. She cleaned up the tables, the dishes and the kitchen and no sooner had she finished that the clock over the stove said 5pm. She headed to the front of the restaurant and turned the sign in the window around so that it read closed. She peered out the window down the street and saw no one. "I wonder why he's not back yet…" she said to herself but went to the till and got the bag they put the money into every night before Crypto took it upstairs and proceeded to empty the register out and fill the bag. When that was done she zipped it closed and then wasn't sure what to do. Crypto had yet to return and he always took the money once they were done and went upstairs while she went home. She thought of leaving the bag by the till but that didn't feel right. She looked toward the stairs; this could be a perfect opportunity to actually meet her boss. A smile crept over her face as she carried the money bag over to the stairs case. She was nervous but also curious and headed up there slowly.

Pox was trying to create an upgrade for the Disintegrator Ray, so it dealt more damage, without burning his phalange pods off, he was glad Crypto hadn't taken it with him and left with only the Zap-o-matic and the Ion Detonator. He paused in his work as he suddenly felt a presence outside his door that definitely was not Crypto. He swallowed a little hard as the half closed door behind him was pushed open carefully. He turned his chair quickly and seized Angela with his superior mental abilities just by locking his gaze on her; she let out a startled shriek as she was suddenly hoisted off of the ground and held above the floor several inches by her mysterious employer. She looked around frantically, seeing the lab, the experiments, the brains and it quickly sunk in what she was truly dealing with, "Oh my God you're REAL ALIENS!"

Pox growled slightly at the terrified human female "Yes, and thankfully you won't be able to run and inform the local constabulary and the military of what you've seen here."

Angela whimpered a little as she felt a terrible pressure building up inside her skull as Pox glared at her sharply; ready to extract her brain by causing her head to explode. "Please, don't!" She cried as the pressure got worse.

Lucky for her Crypto had just returned and heard her pleading. He rushed up stairs and into Pox's room, "Pox wait!" he shouted as he saw what his mentor was about to do. Pox shifted his gaze to Crypto and Angela was relieved as the pressure in her head ceased but he still did not let her down from the air. "I have no choice Crypto! I knew hiring a human was a bad idea, they're far too curious for their own good! If I let her go we'll have to flee Floodlight and start over yet again! We'll be hunted down and-"

"Damn it Pox calm down!" Crypto interrupted him, "That's not gonna happen!"

"Oh you think not? Tell me that when we're both lying open on a dissection table! I had no problem with her while she was downstairs and oblivious but now she's seen everything!" Pox looked back at the terrified Angela. "You, stop seeing everything!"

She quickly shut her eyes, she'd do anything not to get her brain splattered everywhere. She cracked an eye open though as Crypto moved closer to Pox, "Look Pox you don't have to pull her brain out we could just wipe her memory and let her keep workin' here."

Pox thought about it "Well…"

"Um, excuse me," Angela said timidly, "do I get a say in this?"

"No!" Pox exclaimed.

"Sure thing cupcake." Crypto overruled his frantic commander, "Would you rather we wipe yer memory or extract yer brain?"

"Don't give her a choice you dolt!" Pox hissed, "She's a risk to our mission and our existence! She's dangerous!"

"I won't turn you in!" Angela said quickly," I promise!"

"Oh you promise? Oh that makes this loads better. What kind of fool do you take me for?"

"A merciful one?" She asked nervously, "Please, give me a chance, I really won't tell anyone!"

Pox was about to say no when he looked back at Crypto who was giving him a sad puppy face. "Don't… don't give me that look!" Pox hissed.

"Aw c'mon Poxy have a heart." Crypto stuck his lower lip out a little, "I know ya got one under that tough guy act you put on."

"I'm not giving in, I refuse to give in! This is absolutely unacceptable and, and…"

"Aaand?" Crypto grinned, seeing Pox was about to break.

"Oh fine!" he threw his hands in the air in disgust with himself. He let Angela down and spoke sternly to Crypto, "She gets ONE chance, that's it, if the army shows up at our doorstep or I catch her going through anything she's not supposed to I will not hesitate to remove her brain."

"Got it Poxy." Crypto flashed a smug expression.

"Wipe that triumphant smile off your face!" Pox hissed and returned to his work quickly.

Crypto looked back at Angela who was a little pale from the shock of what happened. "T-Thank you Crypto."

"No sweat doll face." He purred, "Pox talks a tough game but he's really just a big softie."

"I am not!" Pox squeaked in complaint but it was wildly obvious that he was, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Angela calmed herself down, "Well, this wasn't how I thought my first encounter with my employer would go but I uh… I'm glad it turned out well. So you're really Aliens…"

"You know it sugar." Crypto said as he sat on Pox's bed. "My full name's Cryptosporidium and he's my commander Orthopox 13"

"14" Pox corrected him curtly.

"Oh yeah, 14" Crypto said, not fazed by Pox's mood in the slightest. "We're from the planet Furon."

"I have to admit, I've always been fascinated by the thought of extraterrestrials coming to earth but I never thought it would really happen, at least not in my life time, it's a little hard to take in. But I'm very pleased to meet you." She said excitedly.

"Please to meet you too." Crypto smiled, "You got any questions you want answered?"

"Lots but right now I'm not sure where to begin." She admitted, "I think I need a little time to adjust, this is quite a shock and things are hectic at home too."

"Oh? Somethin' wrong?"

"Sort of, my landlord is evicting me from my apartment so his son can move in with his new wife, so I have to move. Would it be OK if I took a day off to find a place?"

"Take all the time you need or uh you could just stay here."

"What?" Pox coughed, practically choking on his coffee.

"Really?" Angela asked, a little surprised.

"Sure, we got an extra room you can use, its right next to mine."

"Crypto!" Pox hovered over, "Are you insane?"

"Aw c'mon Poxicle, unless you want her out there amongst all the monkeys, being tempted to tell them stuff."

"I loathe you." he grumbled, "Very well, Angela, you may stay here until you find another place to live, and that's it."

"Thank you Orthopox, I really appreciate it!" She exclaimed happily, "I'll be sure to work extra hard to make up for my being here."

"Yes…well, you had better get your stuff then." Pox said a little uneasily, not sure how to take her gratitude.

"Alright," she nodded, "Crypto, could you help me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." The warrior beamed and quickly followed her out.

Pox watched them leave and turned toward his desk. What was he thinking, letting a human live with them? If the home world found out he'd be stripped of his rank and likely imprisoned… or killed. He shuddered at the thought, he would just have to make absolutely sure no one found out about this, at least it was only temporary. He felt a little better at that but he couldn't get his mind off of the worst case scenarios. What if Angela tipped someone off about them? What if she jeopardized their mission? Or worse, what if she was under cover and had really been sent there to kill them both.

His mind was so full of these kinds of thoughts that a knot formed in his gut. He didn't even notice how much time had passed and jumped when he heard the two reenter the restaurant with her stuff. Pox took a deep breath to regain his composure and listened to the bustling as Crypto helped Angela move her stuff into the spare room across the hall.

It was easy to get Angela moved in, she didn't have much for possessions and with Crypto's psychokinesis it made the job go even faster. She looked around "well that's it, Thanks for the help."

"Hey anytime doll face." He grinned

She smiled a little, "I'd better get some sleep tomorrow will be busier." She took off her shoes and let her hair down, "Good night Crypto."

"Yeah, night." He watched her for a moment longer before leaving and shutting the door with his PK, he pouted a little since he'd hoped she'd have shown him the "gratitude" he was hoping for.

Pox could sense his disappointment as he walked by; "Losing your edge Crypto?" he teased him telepathically.

"No!" he growled back, "I'm just workin' up to makin' my move, she totally digs me"

"Ah, of course, it couldn't be that your vulgar forward nature is off-putting to some."

"Bark all you want Poxy but how many ladies have you been with since getting your package back?"

"I'd hardly call those scantily clad floozies you normally hang around with "ladies"."

"Whatever, I'm goin' to bed. " He grumbled and went to his room, flopping onto the mattress, uniform and all.


	11. Food for Thought

**Chapter 11: Food for Thought**

Angela awoke to the sound of her alarm the next morning. She groaned and turned it off quickly. After sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes she looked around her room a little, confirming that what had happened wasn't a dream. She got up slowly and changed out of her night dress and into a set of her usual cloths, also putting on her shoes. She peered out of her room shortly; she could hear Crypto setting up the kitchen downstairs and also a pleasant, soft humming coming from Pox's room. She tiptoed across the hall and tapped on his door lightly before opening it a jar and cautiously peeking in, not wanting to stir a repeat of the day before out of the mistrusting Furon commander.

Pox was enjoying the morning; his mood had improved significantly since the day before. He was organizing some papers and didn't notice Angela creep into the room as he realized one of his precious documents was missing. He quickly looked over his desk and under a couple things, "Brains! Where did I put that? It was just here…"

"Um, excuse me?" Angela finally spoke, causing Pox to gasp slightly as she startled him a little; he quickly turned his chair around, "Oh A-Angela, good … morning."

"Sorry to bother you… Orthopox, but where's the bathroom?"

Pox regained himself, trying not to look like he was intimidated by her, "Oh i-it's at the end of the hall, to the left of the storage room."

"Thanks." she leaned down and picked up a paper off of the floor to the side of Pox's desk, "Is… this what you're looking for?" she offered it to him.

He blinked and took the paper carefully while watching her a little suspiciously, he finally looked down at the paper once it was in his hands, and it was indeed his missing document. "Yes," he looked back up "Thank you."

"No problem." She headed out of his lab and joined Crypto in the kitchen a little later, after finding the bathroom. "Morning Crypto!" She said as she entered the kitchen, putting her apron on.

"Mornin' cupcake." He smirked, watching her and almost spilling pancake batter before catching himself, "You sleep good?"

"Yes, thank you." She helped him set up the kitchen the rest of the way. "You know I was thinking I could help with dinner tonight."

"Oh? What'd you have in mind?"

"Pot roast would be good, we can start it and let it slow cook all day so it's done by the time we close."

"Hey good idea doll face, we've been ordering out since we got here."

"That must get expensive."

"Not really, when you make the pizza guy forget he delivered to ya it tends to save a lot of cash."

"Oh…I suppose it would. I'll go pick up the pot roast stuff quickly, I'll get back before we open." She grabbed her bag and headed to the store, buying the roast, a couple carrots and potatoes and arrived back at the restaurant just in time. She and Crypto prepared it and got it started in between orders from customers. When the restaurant became crowded she helped him by handing him ingredients and flipping pancakes, while he made eggs, in between delivering food. Crypto liked it when she took any spare time to help him in the kitchen, they worked fluently together and watching her from the side as she fried sausage made him all hot. As things slowed down she checked on the roast, "It certainly smells good, the customers think so too, they keep asking if we have a dinner menu they don't know about."

He grinned "Yeah it smells great but they're gonna just have to chew their waffles."

"Exactly, speaking of which, table 5 ordered 3 more of those."

"What? How many can he eat, he had 4 already."

"I don't know but if he's not careful he's going to pop a seam… or throw up."

"Ew, I don't suppose you'd know how to clean that up if he does?"

"That wasn't in my job description." she grinned, "He throws up and you're on your own spaceman." She grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs.

Crypto's eyes widened, "Tell him we're out of waffle batter!" he called after her as she left the kitchen, hearing her giggle at his comment just before the door shut.

When 5 o'clock rolled around Crypto and Angela tended to the last of the customers and closed the restaurant shortly after. They cleaned up the kitchen and then Angela checked on the pot roast, "Looks done, would you go get Orthopox please?"

"Sure thing." Crypto nodded and went up to Pox's room. The diligent Furon commander was finishing up his upgrade for the Disintegrator Ray when he heard Crypto come in but didn't take his eyes off of the delicate finishing touches. "Hello Crypto, I assume It's after 5, I heard the noise die down."

"Yep and we made dinner Poxy."

"Uhhuh." Pox said only half paying attention as he fit in the last piece. "There, done!" he leaned back a little in his chair, admiring his work, "I've been risking my fingers all day but your Disintegrator Ray will now do far more damage."

Crypto grinned, "Right on, can't wait to try it out! But first let's eat Poxy, c'mon."

Pox turned to face him "You mean downstairs?"

"Well yeah, that's where the food is."

"I'm not going down there! Those…er…small town monkeys know how to form mobs…with all sorts of sharp, primitive weaponry!"

Crypto stared at him in disbelief, "You gotta be kidding me…?"

"I most certainly am not! I don't know about you but I'd rather not be skewered with a pitchfork!"

"Pox this is Floodlight, Nevada not Rockwell, what's the REAL reason?"

"I… I'm just not comfortable going down there right now; I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine suit yerself." He waved him off and went back down to the kitchen, "Well he ain't comin' down, he says he's not comfortable with the idea so it's just you and me doll face." Which of course he didn't mind.

Angela shook her head though, "No it wouldn't be right of us to leave him out; if he won't come down here we'll go up there." She put the roast on a tray and handed Crypto some plates and silverware, "C'mon" she walked past him.

Crypto watched her, bewildered, "Buut…I thought we could eat together…?"

But she didn't reply, just headed upstairs. He frowned slightly but followed her with the dishes.

Pox heard them both coming upstairs and the smell of the cooked meat filled the air. He turned his chair around just as his room was suddenly invaded. Angela smiled at him, "Hello, dinner's ready."

A shocked expression formed on Pox's face as he witnessed her move a few of his books off of one of the tables and set the tray down on it.

He desperately looked at Crypto for an answer, "What is the meaning of this?" he was more confused than angry.

Crypto shrugged, "Apparently we're eating here." He handed Angela the plates and stuff as she served the food.

"In my lab? On my dissection table!?"

"Hey I'm just as shocked as you are." He frowned again.

"But…But."

"You've been working hard all day Orthopox" Angela said as she finished serving everything up, "Surely all that brain power requires you to keep your strength up." She offered him one of the plates.

Pox smiled a little, flattered at her comment, "Well… since you put it that way…" He took the plate carefully, "Thank you."

"Of course" She smiled too and handed Crypto his plate before sitting down with her own. Crypto was still pouting a bit that Angela hadn't wanted a romantic dinner for two and just dug into his food. Pox and Angela started eating too and an awkward silence fell over the group. Pox decided to get a better understanding of Angela's motives and subtly read her mind without her knowing it. He could find no indication of malicious intent in her thoughts, in fact he found that she was truly fascinated with them and felt very privileged to be with them. He felt a little better at that and finally broke the silence "Ahem, So, Crypto, are you planning on going out tonight?"

Crypto swallowed a mouthful of meat, "Yeah, probably, why?"

"If you do would you make sure to get some," he glanced at Angela "er, that "list" of things I needed."

"List?" Crypto asked, staring at him.

"DNA" Pox told him telepathically.

"Oh," Crypto said aloud, "that list, yeah I'll uh pick that stuff up."

"Thank you."

"Sure" he sighed, quiet for a minute before getting up, "I'm gonna go do that now." He set his plate to the side, having lost his appetite after losing a chance to put the moves on Angela. "See you guys later." He grabbed the upgraded Disintegrator Ray off the table and left the restaurant, leaving Pox alone with the attractive human female.

She didn't want Pox to be uncomfortable so she figured it might be a good time to get some of her questions answered as well as keep the silence at bay.

"Um, so you guys have numbers after your names…you said you were 14 and Crypto was 138? What does that mean?"

Pox blinked, a little surprised she was interested, "Over the eons Furons have learned to clone ourselves to obtain immorality to some degree. The number is our current clone. Crypto is a warrior and I am a fleet commander so consequently due to his job, and no small amount of carelessness, he has died several more times than I have."

"Really? That's incredible. What's that like… living forever I mean?"

"Personally I like it a great deal; it allows me to continuously expand my knowledge. Though I was only recently recloned, I have spent the last 20 years dead and trapped in hologram form after the Soviets destroyed my poor Mothership."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She sympathized with him, "Are you alright?"

Pox was unaccustomed to the sympathy since he received very little if any from Crypto over the years, but he did appreciate it, "Yes …now that I'm back."

"That's good." She smiled, finishing her food and noticing Pox was done too, "I should get these dishes washed so Crypto doesn't have to come back to them, care to help me?"

Pox looked a bit nervous at that, "Well…"

"I won't bite you, it's alright."

"…Alright." he gave a small nod, now that he'd read her thoughts and talked with her some he wasn't as worried about her using all the sharp kitchen utensils to murder him. He used his psychokinesis to pick up the dishes while she grabbed the tray and he followed her downstairs. She filled the sink with hot, soapy water while he looked around a little at the kitchen as his chair hovered near her. She began to wash the dishes and watched as Pox used his mental abilities to wipe the clean dishes dry with a towel and put them away without touching them. "So what did bring you to earth anyway? I'm sure it wasn't to flip pancakes, right?" She asked as she took the next dish Pox handed her with his PK.

He frowned slightly, "That's a bit of a long story and likely not one you'll enjoy."

"Tell me anyway." She insisted.

"Well, alright," he gave in, "While we Furons can clone ourselves with each cloning the information degrades. Mutations are starting to form and will only get worse till our species inevitably clones itself into extinction. Due to unregulated atomic weaponry our species also lacks the necessary genitalia to reproduce and so without a source of pure DNA our race is doomed."

"And that source is here on earth?"

"Indeed, yes, after destroying the Martians a Furon ship stopped here to uh…"let off steam" and after one thing lead to another Furon DNA was integrated into humanity's genome. Now there is a strand of pure Furon DNA in the brain stems of every living human. Our mission is to extract it so that our species can survive."

She finished the last of the dishes, "So wait…you…kill humans…?"

"Er…" Pox swallowed a little hard, sensing she was upset, he put the dish she'd just washed away, "It's …not …we don't have much choice, humans aren't exactly interested in volunteering it, there's really no other way."

"I…I see." She gulped, "S-so will you eventually kill me?"

"No! I-I mean…you're not a threat and uh, contrary to the name of the game we never really destroy ALL humans."

She gave it some thought "Well uh…there are a lot of humans, and I can understand that you have to save your people." A silence fell over her for a moment, but she found that there was really no way to argue, she also realized there was no possible way for her to ever be able to stop them. "I'm not…happy about it but, I…guess I can see where you're coming from. Do you…think maybe someday humans will volunteer the DNA and the fighting will stop?"

Pox thought it over, "I don't know…maybe, though I doubt Crypto would like that." He was silent for a moment, trying to think of some way to lighten the mood before speaking, "Let's…not dwell on this now. Why don't you tell me, about yourself? I hardly know anything about you other than your interest in aliens."

"Oh…sure." She forced a smile. She was still a bit uneasy, but she didn't like to think about negative things and she held a hope in her heart that one day the two races could agree and work together. She started a pot of coffee before sitting near him, "Let's see, well I grew up in a small community but I spent a lot of time on my Uncle Harold's farm. He raised mostly chickens and cows. We moved here after my Uncle got killed. My aunt Martha said he was murdered by a little green man."

Pox stared at her momentarily in shock, "…Harold and Martha Turnipseed?"

She nodded, "Yes, how did you kn—"a frown formed on her face "Was that Crypto?"

Pox gulped, "Uh… no, no of course not! I…read about it in the eh…papers, yes."

Her eyes narrowed, "Orthopox" she said sternly.

"Yes it was Crypto!" Pox sighed, "You have my sincerest apology…but in his defense the farmer did pull a shotgun on him first."

She sighed bringing her hand to her forehead, "That sounds like Uncle Harold. Crypto's just lucky that was a long time ago…and that I'm forgiving."

The coffee pot gurgled and she got up and put a cup together for them both. "After it happened my aunt was never the same, everything had to do with aliens after that. Though that is part of what got me so interested in them. It's strange; you guys sort of set me on a path to eventually come work for you all those years ago." She handed Pox his cup and he nodded, "It is intriguing how things like that can happen. Would you say it worked out for the best?"

She thought about it and nodded, "I'm pretty sure that it did in the end."

He smiled at that and they continued talking for a few hours. When Pox had to get back to work he let her accompany him and watch. As they spent more time together he became aware of her enchanting scent. She smelled of apple blossoms and vanilla and her voice was like music. Now that he had chance to appreciate her for who she was without Crypto around he had to admit she was indeed very attractive.


	12. You're just so Far Array

**Chapter 12: You're just so Far Array**

The next few days Pox got to know Angela better, Crypto was out a lot getting brains from other cities and so they had a lot of time alone. Pox also was able to finally finish putting the Communication Array together and was currently making some adjustments to it. Crypto strolled in and looked at the array, "Hey Poxy it looks good is it done?"

"I think so; I'm just making some minor adjustments." He fiddled with a couple things, "There, that should do it!" he turned the system on and it hummed as it powered up but after a few seconds a warning flashed on Pox's computer monitor just before the lab, the restaurant and the whole town was suddenly blacked out. Pox stared into the darkness, "…Frak!"

"What the hell Pox?" Crypto complained.

"Clearly the city grid was not able to deliver necessary electrical conduct that—"

"English Pox!"

"The Array needs too much power it caused a blackout."

"Ya think?"

"I don't need your snide comments just get out your Disintegrator Ray!"

"What for?"

"So I can see what I'm doing!"

Crypto took the Disintegrator Ray out and Pox popped open the ammo chamber, exposing the glowing yellow orange clip, he had Crypto hold it close to where he was working so he could make out the components in the Array, he tinkered with them.

Crypto quickly grew impatient, "C'mon Pox I thought you were a genius, it's bad enough ya blacked out the whole town now ya can't fix it?"

"Don't berate me!" Pox hissed, "Geniuses can make mistake too!"

"Well ya better hurry up before the cops show up."

"I'm aware of that, move your arm…not that far I can't see this wire."

"Make up yer mind!"

"Uh, guys I kinda can't see if I'm burning eggs. What going on?" Angela called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Working on it!" Pox called back, hastily disabling a couple more things to stop the Array from drawing power and soon the lights came back on. "Got it!" Pox smiled.

"Yeah that's great Poxy but if we can't get enough power for this thing to work how the hell are we gonna contact the Admiral?"

"We'll simply have to use an alternative power source. We can get some generators from some of the nearby cities."

"And I take it when you say "we" that really means "Me."

"Exactly!" Pox grinned.

"Great!" he sighed, "Okay Mr. Genius where do I find these generators?"

"I should need at least 3, get one from that Rock City place and there's a large city near Paradiso called Clerk or Click or something, you can get the other two from there."

"Fine but this better work Pox we're running out of time." He grabbed his gun and left again.

"I know." Pox leaned forward and holding his head up with his hands and rubbing his eyes. "This is unbelievable, by the time I get this to work we'll get blown up." He used his PK to throw one of his tools at the Array; it clanged off of the side and hit the floor shortly after.

Angela had come upstairs and heard him talking to himself. She went into his room carefully, "Orthopox? Are you alright?"

He glanced over, "Hello Angela, I'm fine… just frustrated. There seems to be an invisible force keeping this from going as smoothly as I'd hoped."

"You'll get it soon." She set a cup of coffee next to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder, "I know you will."

"Perhaps, but will it be soon enough? Crypto's right, we're running out of time."

She sat next to him, "Out of time for what?"

"…We used to run a casino in Paradiso, it was destroyed which is why we came here, recently we've been attacked by our own people, they're trying to kill Crypto under the order of the Admiral, but we don't know why. I'm trying to get this Communication Array finished before the next attack, whenever that will be."

"Just hang in there." She reassured him, "You're smart, I'm sure you'll get it working before that happens."

"I certainly hope so, what happened downstairs anyway?"

"Oh everyone left because of the blackout so I just closed, its 4:30 anyway we'd only be open another half hour."

"Good, thank you for handling that."

"No problem, I'm going to go clean up the kitchen, do you need anything?"

"No I'll be alright, thank you for the coffee."

"My pleasure" She got up, "Oh and don't be so hard on yourself Orthopox."

He nodded, "You can call me Pox."

"Okay" She smiled, "then you can call me Angie," She leaned close to him and kissed his cheek lightly before leaving the lab.

Pox's eyes widened and he felt his cheeks turn pink, he put his hand against where she'd kissed him and a dreamy smile formed on his lips as his eyes half closed and he inhaled her scent that lingered around him, now feeling totally at ease.

Crypto came back with the generators sometime around 1a.m. He hid them in back of the restaurant after landing the saucer, figuring Pox would know what to do with them next. He headed inside, by then Angela was in bed but he could sense Pox was still awake and headed upstairs. He popped into the lab and found his mentor drawing a blueprint while smiling to himself, at the same time having a pen and paper writing notes using his psychokinesis. He wasn't totally paying attention though as his thoughts drifted back to Angela occasionally. Crypto wasn't sure how to interpret the complex emotions he sensed in his mentor but went over to him. "Hiya Poxy, what's shaken?"

Pox looked up from his drawing, "Good early morning Crypto, did you find the generators?"

"Uh, yeah, I had to blow up half of that Click or Clerk…whatever place, to get em though."

"Good, good" Pox said, sounding a little distracted.

"Yeah it was pretty fun," he grinned "but there's some bad news too… The saucer's pretty beat up, the drain function ain't workin' and one of the engines is on fire." He paused so Pox could start ranting but to his surprise his commander just nodded, "Well I'll take a look at it when the sun comes up, I'm sure it won't take long to fix."

Crypto frowned, confused. Not that he enjoyed Pox's yelling but the fact that he wasn't was very unlike him. "Okay what the hell is goin' on Pox?!"

His mentor blinked "Excuse me?"

"What the matter with ya? Yer actin' all…weird!"

"I'm just happy Crypto!" he frowned slightly, "Can't I be happy? Is that allowed?"

"I've seen ya happy before and that's never enough to keep you from bitchin' at me any chance you get. There's happy and then there's what yer doin', it's strange…yer actin' almost like yer in…" He paused and his eyes widened before he glared at Pox. "W-wait a minute, I see what's goin' on, say it isn't so!"

Pox stared at him, "Crypto what in the galaxy are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Admit it yer in this good'a mood cuz yer putting the moves on my waitress chika!"

"Well she…she is very… attractive." Pox felt his blush return.

"Damn it Pox, I saw her first!" Crypto growled.

"Of course you saw her first, you hired her!" Pox exclaimed, now defensive.

"Yeah but I picked her out for me!"

Pox gave a sigh, "Crypto, the last thing I want is for this to drive a wedge between us. I just can't help it, she's kind and beautiful and she…smells so good! This is the first female I've felt this way about since dumped me all those years ago."

Crypto's anger subsided a little but he still wasn't happy, "Well how do ya know she likes you huh? Maybe Angela's not into skinny nerds."

Pox held his head up on his hand, smiling again, "She said I can call her Angie."

Crypto blinked, "She whaat?"

"And she kissed my cheek."

"Damn it!' Crypto hissed, realizing he'd lost, "son-of-a-…"

"Crypto, watch your language." Pox frowned again. "Look, how many Earth women you've been with since you got your new package, what harm is it if I want to be with just one?"

"I thought you said we shouldn't be too interested in humans Pox."

"Well I…may have said something like that or other, but maybe being a little interested wouldn't hurt…"

"Great, I've been out matched by a hypocrite smartass in a hover chair." Crypto grumbled bitterly and stomped out of the lab.

Pox watched him leave and a feeling of guilt welled up inside him. He wondered if he should have just remained indifferent to Angela… but he couldn't, she was like an angel and had shown interest in him. Still he couldn't help but wonder if Crypto would ever forgive him. He recalled how much Crypto hated Sergai when he stepped in while he was trying to court Natalya. Pox didn't want to stop trying to be with Angela, he really liked her, but he also didn't want to lose Crypto, whom he considered his closest friend and was almost like a son to him. He tortured himself with his thoughts as he put his stuff away. He hovered downstairs and outside to fix the saucer despite it's still being dark out.

Crypto didn't sleep either, he was too angry at Pox, how could he steal his girl?!" Of all the human women he had to pick the one he was interested in. He continued seething till he heard Angela get up two hours before the restaurant was due to open. He listened to her movements as she got ready to start the day. When he knew she was downstairs in the kitchen he left his room and went down there as well. She was making breakfast, currently in the middle of bacon. Crypto waltzed into the kitchen and grinned, "Hiya hot stuff, how's it goin'?"

"Morning Crypto, did you sleep well?"

"Uh, I kinda didn't sleep."

"Oh, did you have too much excitement getting those generators last night?"

"…Something like that." He sighed "So uh, makin' breakfast for everyone huh?"

"Yes, I thought you guys could use a nice big breakfast." She smiled.

Crypto nodded a little and quickly read her mind when she wasn't looking at him, hearing her thoughts in his head.

"I hope this helps Pox take his mind off of things, he worries too much, and it's not good for him."

"Whaaat…" Crypto half mumbled to himself.

"Pardon?" she asked, looking over at him.

"U-uh nothin', nothin' just thinkin' out loud."

"Oh okay." She flipped the bacon over. Crypto read her mind one more time, her thoughts revealing themselves to him.

"Pox is so nice, I can't help but want to be with him as often as I can, I wonder if he thinks the same about me…"

Crypto looked down a little, defeated. Pox had stolen his woman and…wait…if she had kissed him maybe Pox wasn't to blame after all…

He frowned as he realized that Pox hadn't been trying to steal Angela, she was trying to steal Pox. Crypto felt terrible, he had been a total jerk to his mentor and for what? Pox was right, Crypto had been with lots of women but this was the first Pox liked since getting his heart broken. He shouldn't have gotten angry with him, he should have congratulated him. Crypto had berated Pox all this time for not being interested in humans and he finally was, he should encourage it. With that in mind he left the kitchen and raced up to the lab but upon looking inside he didn't find Pox there.

He checked the whole upstairs and down but couldn't find his commander, finally he went outside. He noticed that the 3 generators had been placed around the restaurant and disguised as "alien eggs" using a simple fiberglass casing and paint. He grinned at that, liking the idea. With still no sign of Pox he approached the saucer which now looked fully repaired, shiny and like new. Some of Pox's tools were lying around and Crypto stepped into the Abducto Beam and was lifted up into ship. He finally spotted Pox, his chair hovered silently next to the saucer's pilot seat and the onboard computer was online, Pox was leaning forward, his head lying on the dash and his eyes were closed as he'd fallen asleep, His slender fingers still resting on the controls for the computer. Crypto smiled a little and stepped over to him carefully, he placed his hand on his mentor's shoulder and nudged him lightly, "Hey Pox wake up."

Pox moved his brow slightly and he mumbled, "Crypto…get out of my room and open the…restaurant."

Crypto snickered and nudged him again, "Yer not in yer room Poxy yer in the saucer, wake up."

Pox opened his eyes slowly and sat up in his chair; he looked around and confirmed he was indeed in the saucer. He yawned and rubbed his eyes gently, "I must have dozed off, what time is it?"

"About 7A.M., you've been out here all night?"

"Since… our little disagreement." He looked down a little, "I'm sorry Crypto, I belong in the lab, not with humans."

"No Pox you do belong with humans, Angela totally digs you; she wants to be with you."

"You read her mind?"

"Yeah, I had to know for sure. She wants ya Poxy don't give up now. I was a jerk last night, I uh…m'sorry."

Pox blinked and smiled, "Thank you Crypto."

He nodded, "Just don't rub it in." he grinned, "Maybe we can get a second waitress."

"Uh… I don't know about that, let's focus on figuring out these attacks before I consider letting you hire another human."

"Fiiine." Crypto pouted, "Well, yer girlfriend makin' breakfast so let's get inside."

Pox blushed when Crypto said girlfriend but nodded, "Alright." He followed Crypto to the Abducto Beam and it let them both down to the ground. Pox winced a bit, the sunlight stinging his still tired eyes and he was glad to be inside again when they walked through the restaurant doors. Angela looked over as they sat at the kitchen table, "Morning Pox, I see Crypto found you." she smiled and handed them both coffee.

"Good morning Angie." Pox took the cup with a thankful smile, "Crypto was kind enough to wake me up, I dozed off in the saucer."

"Well at least you got a little sleep." She set their food down in front of them and joined them with her own. "So what's your plan today?"

"Hopefully to get that Array running." He sipped his coffee, "I want you two to keep the restaurant closed today so I can try to reach the Admiral."

"Cwool, Day Owff!" Crypto said with his mouth partially full of pancake.

Pox frowned in disgust, "Would you swallow before you talk please, you eat like a Blisk!"

"Sowie!" He then swallowed and grinned to which Pox just shook his head, eating his own food. Angela giggled at them, "Since you're giving us the day off can I watch the transmission in the lab?"

"Sure." Pox nodded, "Just don't say anything; I doubt the Admiral would be pleased if he knew that we had told a human about us willingly."

"I understand." She nodded, taking the plates when they were all done eating. Crypto helped her wash the dishes and Pox put them away with his PK ability. He then led them up to the lab and turned the Array on again, with the 3 generators working it powered up with ease. Pox adjusted a few things and tried contacting anyone, "Hello, come in someone, Hello?"

Very soon someone did answer and the fleet commander's eyes filled with rage as a familiar voice came through the other end, "Hello this is space traffic control, please state your business."

"Not You Again!" Pox hissed back.

"Uhoh." Crypto muttered.

"What is it?" Angela asked quietly.

"That guy pissed Pox off in the second game."

"Oh…"

"Pardon me?" the voice on the other line asked in an irritated tone.

"This is Orthopox-14 fleet commander of the Furon Empire transmitting from Sol-3."

"Oh I remember you!" The space traffic control guy said bitterly "You're that crank caller! I suppose you're still "stranded on Earth"."

"I AM ON EARTH! You listen to me you impudent little pustule, I demand that you transfer me to the Furon Admiral Cyclosporiasis immediately!"

"Sir I don't appreciate your tone and your signal is far too weak to reach that part of Furon, best try again later." He then hung up.

"Hello?" Pox blinked and glared at the communication equipment, "Of all the incompetent…I swear by all 14 of my clones I will one day see to it that he never answers a phone call again! He'll…"

"Whoa, whoa, mellow out Poxy." Crypto interrupted him, "He said the signal's too weak right? We gotta boost it is all."

"I'll have to upgrade a few components…and we need to get the antenna up higher."

"Uh, yeah about that, there are no big tall buildings in Floodlight Pox."

"How about the water tower?" Angela asked and both Furons turned to face her. "I know my town." she shrugged.

"That could work" Pox nodded, "I'll get to work on the upgrades right away!"


	13. Poxy Phone Home

**Chapter 13: Poxy Phone Home**

Over the next two weeks Pox was able to upgrade the Array to boost its power and also added a video screen so he could see and be seen by anyone they contacted. Once that was done he had Crypto move the antenna up to the top of the water tower with the saucer before the sun came up.

"Pox this is starting to look more and more like that crappy side mission from the second game," He told his mentor telepathically. "I'm still waiting for the tank to show up and try to shoot down the water tower."

"Please Crypto, Floodlight is far more "easy going" then Bay City, you needn't worry."

"Uhhuh, I've heard that before."

"Just land the saucer and get in here! You've got pancakes to flip!"

"Alright, Geez." he landed and came back inside, setting up the kitchen and opening the restaurant at the usual time.

Pox meanwhile fired the Array up again and attempted once more to contact the Admiral, "Come on…work… please work." Very soon Admiral Cyclosporiasis appeared on Pox's view screen.

"Admiral! Thank Arkvoodle I got this blasted antenna to work!" Pox said with relief but Admiral's scowl quickly dampened his spirits.

"Orthopox-13?"

"14 sir." Pox squeaked.

"This better not be about your Mothership again. I have allowed you to continue your mission but I'm not yet convinced you deserve a new Mothership."

"Yes sir, I understand, but this is not about the Mothership I assure you!"

"Go on then commander."

"I- I am prepared to take responsibility for whatever it is Crypto has done that has recently put him in your disfavor. I will do whatever I can to make up for…"

"What in the name of Meningitis are you talking about Pox?" The Admiral interrupted, sounding confused and slightly annoyed."

Pox stared at his commanding officer with a bewildered look on his face. How could he not know!?

"Well?" The Admiral barked making Pox jump slightly.

"A-Admiral, recently we have been attacked by assassin Furons, they have tried on two occasion to kill Crypto and disable his saucer's on board cloning chamber to ensure I can't bring him back. The first attack I was mistaken for him and my 14th clone as you can see has been rendered as immobile as my 13th was, and the most recent attack sent our base of operations crashing to the ground. They arrived under your order! What could Crypto possibly have done to provoke this from this far away?"

Cyclosporiasis glared at Pox, making him shrink in his chair. "I don't appreciate these accusations commander, I suggest you reconsider them."

Pox frowned suddenly, he wasn't giving up that easily, "How do you explain this then?" He pulled the letter Crypto had gotten off of Sepsis out of the sleeve of his robe and unfolded it, holding it up for the Admiral to read. "It's all here, signed by you. Crypto confiscated this off of the last assassin that arrived."

The Admiral read the document Pox held up for him and the look of confusion came back over his face through now accompanied by concern. "I assure you Pox I never authored the death of warrior clone Cryptosporidium! That is not my signature, though I admit it is an impressive forgery."

"Forgery?" Pox blinked, looking the paper over again, "But…if you didn't give the order then who did? Who's using your name?"

"Someone who is going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble," Cyclosporiasis said angrily. "I will authorize an investigation and catch whoever is doing this and report them to Emperor Meningitis, they'll go to prison for a long time."

"But Admiral, what about Crypto? The next attack could come any day." Pox said in a worried voice.

"I understand your concern commander; I assure you I will get to the bottom of this as soon as I can. You and your warrior clone should lay low and continue your mission as best you can until this matter is resolved. I will inform you in any way I can when the person responsible is caught."

Pox nodded slowly, "Yes sir, Thank you."

The Admiral nodded back and cut the transmission, the video screen went black as he did and Pox was left alone in his now silent lab with only his thoughts. He wasn't sure how to take what had just happened. He was relieved that it was not the Admiral who was against them but now they were back to square one, they had no answer and no way of finding it. Pox's mind filled with worry, who could it be? Why were they doing this? What did they have to gain from it? Was someone trying to stop their mission? He wondered, someone who didn't want the Furon DNA restored? He frowned, that was preposterous, and who on the home world wouldn't want flawless clones and genetalia!? There had to be another reason…but what? Pox put a hand to his mouth as an even worse thought came into his mind, "…What am I going to tell Crypto?" He whispered to himself. Crypto's only relief had been the promise Pox made to him that he would get him off the hook with the Admiral. Now that Cyclosporiasis wasn't the culprit Pox couldn't keep his promise and Crypto was still being hunted by some unknown force… how would he take that?

Pox shook his head, telling himself no, "I…I can't tell him."

"Tell me what?" Crypto asked as he walked in.

Pox turned his chair around and looked Crypto in the eyes, "I…"

Crypto could sense a worrying blend of emotions from Pox.

He felt unsureness in him, confusion, and concern and above all, fear, not general fear but fear for Crypto's safety and that made him uneasy.

The anxious look in Pox's eyes only worsening it, "…What's the matter Poxy?"

Pox looked to the side, "…I don't know how to tell you."

"Just say it, it can't be that bad." Though he was starting to think it was.

"…It wasn't the Admiral."

"What?" Crypto asked, confused, "Sure it was his signature's…"

"I just talked to him Crypto!" Pox interrupted, "He…he's as confused as we are, I showed him the order he says his signature's been forged!"

Crypto looked worried now as well, "But –but he's gotta be lyin'…right?"

Pox shook his head, "I don't think so Crypto, I've worked under his command for a long time, he's an honest, straight forward Furon."

"Then someone's still screwin' with us…and still after me!"

"I know, but I can't for all my lives think of whom!" Pox admitted.

"Aw crap! W-what do we do? We gotta find out who it is before they find us, right?"

"Cyclosporiasis was very livid about the situation; he assured me he would find out who was behind it and arrest them soon."

"So what, we just sit here and do nothing?!" Crypto growled.

"Well eh...not...exactly…, our orders are to lay low and continue the mission to the best of our abilities till everything is dealt with."

"That's doing nothing Pox!"

"Don't yell at me I did what I could!" Pox defended himself, "We have to follow orders Crypto."

"For Arkvoodle's sake Pox ya can't follow orders yer whole life! What if the Admiral told you to jump off the palace without yer chair, would you do it?"

"…I would have to." Pox sighed.

"Well I wouldn't! Not even if the Emperor himself told me to!"

"Crypto Shhh! That's treason!" Pox said and frantically made sure the Communication Array was truly turned off.

"Damn it Pox stand up for yourself!"

Pox frowned at the comment.

"Er…float for yerself!" Crypto corrected himself, "If you keep licking their boots they'll just keep you down under them. I don't care what Cyclosporiasis says, someone's screwin' with my life and I'm gonna find out who!" He turned to leave but felt himself held back as Pox prevented him from getting through the door with his PK. "Let me go Pox!" Crypto said, "I'm going."

"No you're not!" Pox hissed, "This is a fool's errand, a suicide mission! I won't let you do it! If you take that saucer and get yourself vaporized in it, we'll have no remaining Cloning Chamber for you; I won't be able to bring you back!"

Crypto growled and turned on his mentor angrily, "Let me go damn it! If I die I'm takin' 'em with me! Who's gonna care anyway?!"

"I care!" Pox snapped, causing Crypto to stop and stare. Pox took a deep breath, "Crypto I can't do this mission without you…please don't take the risk. The Admiral will find whoever is doing this; I know he will; we won't have to lay low for long."

Crypto nodded slowly, his anger dying down, "Gee Poxy I didn't know I meant that much to ya." He grinned, trying to elevate the mood a little.

Pox gave a small smile, "Don't get a big head, not in the least bit," he said jokingly, "you're staying then?"

"Yeah, yeah I'll lay low. I'm really itchin' to blow somethin' up though!"

"Well…" Pox thought, "alright, go grind Rock City into sand, it's just begging to be destroyed with a name like that but be back here by tomorrow morning and cloak the saucer on your way there and the way back."

"Gotcha! Time ta Rock!" he got his guns and practically ran out of the restaurant, leaving with the cloaked saucer to destroy all humans…in that one city.

Pox looked around his lab after Crypto left. It had gotten a bit messy during the time he was building the Array and now that he had a little time he thought it best to reorganize. He tidied things up a little and got everything fairly organized by the time he heard the saucer land at around 6 PM. Pox went downstairs, arriving there just as Crypto walked in, a big grin on his face, "Hey Poxarific!"

"I take it you had fun destroying?"

"You know it!" he grinned again, "I got a whole bunch of brains Poxy, are ya proud of me?"

"That depends, did you screw anything up?" Pox asked suspiciously.

"Uh…kinda" he showed Pox the Zap-o-matic which was badly damaged and no longer functional.

"I'm less proud of you." Pox frowned, snatching the gun from him before he hovered upstairs.

"Aw, I'm getting' all teary eyed now!" Crypto snickered as he followed him.

Pox watched Crypto in his peripheral vision as he attempted to fix the Zip-o-matic. After looking around the lab Crypto's gaze locked onto an upgrade for the Quantum Deconstructor Pox had been slowly working on in some of his limited spare time since they had arrived there. "Pox you've been working on this thing for weeks now when the hell do I get to play with it?"

"I told you before Crypto, quality takes time. I may have finished it by now if not for the attacks and you breaking your old equipment."

"My equipment's doing just fine." Crypto smirked slyly.

"Yes, as you've told me before. What I don't understand is how you managed to practically crack the Zap-o-matic in half… it looks like you bashed it against a brick wall!"

"Couple dozen monkey skulls is more like it, the casing on the gun is flawed."

"I didn't design the casing to be used as a sledge hammer, I made it lighter!"

"Ya made it into a piece of crap, gimme the old zapper back; I could split some heads with that one."

"Why don't I send you out there to destroy all humans with a crowbar?" Pox asked sarcastically, "Then you can be really primitive."

Crypto frowned a bit but it faded as he eyed a box labeled "old stuff". "Hey what's this?" he went over and opened the box.

Pox glanced over "Out of date things I plan to scrap for parts. The lab was looking a bit cluttered and so I decided to do some spring cleaning."

"It's November."

"Fall cleaning then." he waved it off, "There's nothing but junk in there."

"Junk? The Dislocator's in here!" Crypto said as he pulled it out of the box, "What are ya getting rid of this for?"

"I decommissioned it after that dreadful incident with the chickens." Pox glared.

"Hey I made 'em flying birds; it's more of a challenge to eat 'em that way."

"It's bad enough you tried making bacon with the Disintegrator Ray!"

"I got it to sizzle… before it burst into flames." He set the Dislocator aside and combed through the contents of the box more, "Hey the old Anal Probe! This brings back memories."

"No doubt of Miss Rockwell." Pox grinned, "I finally got fed up with the ketchup bottle clogging up and I decided to turn that old Anal Probe into a high powered, non-clogging ketchup launcher!"

Crypto made a face, "…I hope yer gonna wash it first… Hey what's this?" He pulled out a black ball with a green stripe around it. "A Burrow Beast Lure… too bad these don't work anymore, that thing was cool."

"Where did you let that monstrosity go anyway?" Pox asked as he looked back at him.

"Some isolated valley in Nevada, Perfect Valley or somethin'…"

"Oh…hmm."

"What?" Crypto asked seeing Pox deep in thought.

"I was just wondering how long it will be before we see a movie come out about that."

"A giant underground worm that pops up and eats people…I bet that could make for a good show."

"Indeed, but it will probably have one too many sequels and the last one will most likely be some nonsense about "how it all began" and it'll completely kill the franchise."

"Yeah, but the first one will kick ass."

"Definitely," Pox smiled, "It's good you let that thing go!"

Crypto snickered and poked around the lab more till Pox got the Zap-o-matic put back together, "There, good as new." He handed it to the warrior, "And Crypto, try to treat it with respect."

"Gotcha Poxy. I'm gonna shower, blowin' up monkeys really works up a sweat." He ambled out of the lab and headed to the bathroom, taking a nice hot shower.

Angela meanwhile came upstairs with dinner, "Working hard Pox?" She asked as she set the food down.

The busy Furon commander looked up from some papers, "Always." He nodded and hovered over, helping her set things up. "Crypto's in the shower I expect he'll join us shortly."

"Alright." She set Crypto's plate aside and handed Pox his before sitting next to him and the two started eating.

Crypto came in after a few minutes, now clean and dry, "Food smells good doll face." He grabbed his plate and sat with them, eating as well.

"Thanks" she smiled, "So did you totally destroy Rock City?"

"Most of it, yeah…why?"

"My ex-boyfriend lives there, I was just making sure you sucked his brain out."

"Oh," he grinned, "pretty sure I got it."

"Thank you, that saves me the trouble, I'm glad I found someone better." She glanced at Pox who quickly blushed and smiled a little timidly.

Crypto frowned slightly, "So Pox you gonna finish that Quantum Deconstructor upgrade soon?"

"Probably," he nodded, "I just haven't had the will to do it; I've been rather tired." A small sigh escaped him.

Angela cupped his chin in her hand and had him look at her, "Your eyes look exhausted too; you need to get more rest Poxy."

Pox stared back into her eyes, entranced by them, "Yes, you're right…"

"Well that does it for my appetite." Crypto suddenly said as he got up and grabbed the dishes with his PK.

"Do you need help?" Pox asked as he looked back over at him.

"Nah I got it, yer busy anyway."

He headed downstairs, dumping the dishes in the sink, he wasn't going to wash them of course he just didn't want to be in the way. He left the restaurant to find a good place to get a drink.

Once he was gone Angela smiled a little, "Well, I'll wash those dishes and you can get some sleep." Before Pox could respond to her, she leaned in and kissed him. His body tensed slightly but as the shock wore off he gave into it and kissed her back. She pulled back shortly and ran her hand over his now very pink cheek, "Good night Pox." She took any remaining dishes Crypto had missed and went downstairs.

"G-good night." Pox said in a half whisper, he stared after her for a moment smiling to himself. He hovered over to the bed soon and managed to get into it. He lay down and pulled the covers up over his tired body. He put a hand to his lips with the fond memory of her kiss, and soon fell asleep feeling like a very lucky Furon.


	14. The Day the Lab Stood Still

**Chapter 14: The Day the Lab Stood Still**

As November began to draw to a close Crypto sat around bored watching TV. The restaurant was closed today as Angela and he both wanted a day off. Crypto spotted the mailman outside, though wasn't surprised as she had had her mail forwarded there after she moved in. He turned off the TV, there was nothing good on anyway, and lazily walked outside and got the mail. He flipped through it, mostly it was garbage for Angela but he did confiscate a magazine addressed to her that had a sexy chick on the cover. He grinned a little before seeing one of the letters was for an Otto Paxton. He remembered that being Pox's fake human name he used for business stuff, and wondered what this was all about. He considered opening it as he walked back inside but he figured Pox would be pretty ticked off if he did and so headed upstairs. He walked into the lab, "Hey Otto Pox someone's writin' ya fan mail."

Pox looked up from a brain he was working on, "Oh?" he took his rubber gloves off and threw them away before taking the letter from Crypto, "Thank you."

He looked it over and was about to open it when he saw Crypto was purposely hanging around looking curious. "…Anything else?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nah, just bored is all, what's it say?"

"That's none of your business!" Pox turned away from him and slipped the letter into the left sleeve of his robes.

"Aw, c'mon Poxy!" he complained.

"If you're so bored why don't you go to the hospital and get me some more medical equipment?"

"Hurt monkeys don't fight back, they don't even run away screamin', it's no fun incinerating hobbling cast wearers with I.V. bags hangin' off 'em…it's almost…pathetic."

Pox sighed, thinking, "Well if you want that Quantum Deconstructor upgrade soon then you can go get me some radioactive material from a nuclear power plant, I'm sure that will be well guarded."

"Now that's what I call a mission Poxy!" Crypto grinned, "Where should I get it from?"

"Hmm…plague the soviets for it."

"But it's cold up there." He frowned.

"Yes but that old Blisk nightmare of mine came back last night and I'd appreciate it if you blew some of the Ivans up just to make me feel better."

"Heh, I guess that means yer still not ready to try Earth sea food."

"Not on your lives." He frowned, "Every time I see commercials for it; all I can think about is their filthy spores."

"Ew, alright enough chitchat I'll go get that radioactive crap from the Ivans. Crypto left the restaurant after grabbing his guns and Pox soon heard the saucer take off and fly away. He pulled the letter out of his sleeve and opened it, reading what it said and smiled before slipping it into a drawer in his desk. He tinkered around his lab some, all the while hoping to hear some word from the Admiral. It had been more than enough time for him to catch the person behind all of the attacks; he wondered what was taking so long. He tried to keep his mind off of worrying by extracting DNA, but it didn't really help much. After a few hours he heard the sound of a saucer landing outside and put his DNA work to the side, pulling out the Quantum Deconstructor upgrade and getting it ready for the radioactive material Crypto was bringing.

When he heard someone come in his lab he turned his chair, "Oh good you're…" he paused as he stared at the Furon in front of him, it was not Crypto, but Sepsis, the one who had destroyed the Space Dust.

"You…" Pox half whispered, about to use his PK to destroy the traitorous Furon but Sepsis pulled a gun on him and shot him in the neck before he could. Pox winced at the sharp pain, expecting to be bleeding but when he reached up to what he expected to be a gaping wound he instead found a dart imbedded in his skin. He pulled it out and quickly realized what was going on. He looked at Sepsis with a panicked look in his eyes, his vision already blurring and his concentration disrupted by the drug in his system, "Please…I'm not Crypto!" he said desperately as he tried keeping awake.

Sepsis just smiled, "I'm not interested in Crypto; I'm here for you Orthopox."

Pox panted heavily as he struggled to try and focus enough to slam the traitor into something and kill him but no matter how he tried he couldn't make his powers do what he wanted. He barely saw Sepsis walk over to him as his vision blurred even more and briefly felt his cranial wires that connected him to his chair being removed before everything went black.

Crypto returned to the restaurant an hour or so after, he exited the saucer and quickly went inside, "Man that was fun!" He exclaimed as he made his way into the kitchen but was surprised to see Angela sitting at the table looking worried and trembling. She looked up as he walked in, "Crypto! Th-thank goodness you're back!"

"What the matter doll face?" he asked, getting concerned by the anxiety in her voice.

"S-someone came in here, another Furon, and took Pox!"

His eyes widened, "What? No…" He ran upstairs to the lab, "Pox!" He called out but as he entered the lab he was greeted only by silence and Pox's empty cerebral chair floating in an almost lonely way by the desk. "….Pox." he said quieter as the situation slowly sunk in and weighed down on him. He stared down at his shoes trying to think of what to do, his thoughts interrupted by Angela as she joined him in the lab, "I'm sorry Crypto, he was armed, and there was nothing I could…"

"It's not yer fault cupcake." Crypto reassured her.

"Why would they take him?"

"I don't know, last I checked they were after me and…" he paused as he thought of something, "Oh no…"

"What is it?" she asked urgently.

"Pox told the Admiral everything! Maybe… maybe they took him to shut him up!"

Angela gasped and put a hand to her lips. Crypto could see tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"D-don't worry I'll get him back." He tried to comfort her, though it was far from his strong suit.

"Please…hurry Crypto." She managed to say though her voice quivered.

He nodded, "Didja see where they went?"

She shook her head, "He had a saucer like yours…he could have gone anywhere."

"If he's got a saucer I can follow the energy trail. Stay here Ang I'll rip 'em a new asshole for this, it's payback time!" He grabbed Pox's chair with his PK and ran downstairs outside, letting the Abducto Beam take him and it into the saucer.

After figuring out how to get the saucer's sensors working, it was a good thing he'd seen Pox do it before, he had the ship take off and followed the left over energy trail from Sepsis' ship.


	15. Your Royal Heinie

**Chapter 15: Your Royal Heinie **

Pox slowly awoke as the effects of the drug began to wear off. His head throbbed and as he opened his eyes they were stung by the lights above him causing him to wince. He then remembered what happened and upon realizing he could not move his arms he struggled to clear his vision. As his sight focused he recognized the familiar view of Furon technology around him. He found he had been strapped to a silver table in what looked a lot like a lab he had 20 years ago. A gasp escaped him as it dawned on him that he was being held in a Furon Mothership. But he wondered why, what did they want from him? What were they going to do to him? He struggled to free his arms but to no avail and quickly became frantic. He opened drawers with his mental abilities trying to find something to cut himself loose with, but quickly stopped as he heard voices outside of the door and very soon Sepsis walked in with a female Furon dressed in royal garments following behind him. Pox recognized her immediately and a feeling of bitterness and fear welled up inside him as a shocked expression formed from his facial features, "P-Princess !"

She smiled deviously, "Hello Poxy, long time, no see." She used a remote to make the table he was on move to a more vertical position so she could see him eye to eye, "Did you miss me?"

Pox didn't answer, he had not missed her at all; "You were behind all of this?"

"Of course! It was all so perfect. Kill off Crypto, disable the cloning chamber on his saucer, destroy your base and capture you. But Typhus had to go and screw up the first attack! And then you had to run and tell Cyclosporiasis like the little boot-licker you are!" She hissed, causing Pox to flinch slightly. She smiled at that, liking his fear of her, "Luckily Sepsis did a better job of things and not only destroyed your base but also captured you despite that brainless minion of yours still being alive."

"Speaking of which," Sepsis chimed in, "I'd like to be on my way so I don't get pinned with blame for this little conspiracy."

She frowned, "Rest assured you will not be implicated Sepsis."

"And my payment?"

She sighed, "It has been wired to your account, now get out!"

He half bowed and headed out, taking his saucer and getting out of there. turned back to Pox, "Now it's just you and me."

"I demand you release me immediately!" Pox hissed angrily but she only wagged her finger in a disciplinary way, "Uh-uh-uh-uh Poxy, don't forget that I'm a princess, I out rank a little fleet commander like you."

Pox looked down a little, defeated, "Yes your Highness."

She lifted his chin a little, "Don't look so sulky, this should be an honor for you."

He turned his head a bit to get out of her grip, "What exactly do you want from me? Want to use me for another new vehicle?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. You see Poxy; my father has been favoring my little sister Salmonella lately. He's planning to give her the throne instead of me!"

Pox stared at her, he was happy to hear the Emperor had enough sense not to give this viper the throne but he suppressed a smile, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Daddy-dearest" said that the only way I would get the throne now is if I had a child."

He frowned, "My mission isn't complete yet, as of now that is impossible, "Princess."

"Actually it's not Poxy," she cozied up to him a little, "you see I was quite sheltered during the Martian War, daddy wanted to keep his precious little girls safe and I wasn't as exposed to the radiation as the rest of our people. My "parts" are still fairly intact." She ran her finger down his chest and to his waist "And I'm sure after all this time yours have been restored."

Pox's eyes widened and he tried moving away from her but the bondage held him tightly in place, "You…you've got to be kidding!"

"Not at all dear." She lovingly stroked his cheek, "Isn't this exciting?"

Pox couldn't help but shudder, he no longer had feelings toward her other than bitterness, fear and disgust and he certainly did not want to father her child just so that she could be Empress! He almost wished he hadn't restored his package; it would have saved him from all of this. "No " he finally spoke, "It's not exciting, and I'll have no part of this."

She laughed a little, "Don't be silly! Imagine how much my royalty will help your career, you can hire even more goofy little minions like Crypto and finish your mission faster." She leaned in and forced a kiss on his lips. He whimpered slightly and pulled back best he could.

"I've moved on." Pox glared, "There's nothing left between us."

Her temper suddenly changed at that and she glowered at him, causing him to shrink a little, "You little maggot; who else would ever want to be with a sorry brain-poker like you?!"

He blinked at that and he immediately thought of Angela, her beautiful eyes and hair, her smell, her kindness and he smiled a little to himself till he suddenly realized actually expected him to answer her, emphasized by her impatiently shouting "Well?!"

He jumped slightly and thought quickly, what would Crypto do? Finally it came to him and he smirked at her, "Someone much younger!"

She growled and slapped him across the face, "We're about the same age!"

He winced and looked at her again, scowling at her, "Yes, but I've aged much better!"

She gasped and her mouth fell open before she slapped him again but harder this time and Pox squeaked from the sudden pain jolting through his face.

"How Dare You!" She hissed, pulling off the metal armor piece he wore around his shoulders and threw it aside, pinning him harder against the table with her body, "If you won't give in then I will force you into it! I will have my father's throne and no insignificant fleet commander is going to stop me!" She dug her sharp nails into his shoulders, tearing his shirt slightly and leaving claw marks in his skin.

Pox whined a little in pain but clenched his teeth together to bear it, "…Please... I don't want to do this!" But she didn't stop, she moved her hands down him, and stopped at his waist, about to remove his lower robes when she suddenly shrieked and jumped up and away from Pox, grabbing hold of her back side and running around the lab, occasionally jumping slightly in pain, "Ow! What in the-Ow!"

Crypto stepped into the room, holding the old chargeable Anal Probe that had yet to be turned into a ketchup launcher, in his hands. "Sorry to crash yer party Princess but Poxy ain't interested in ya and I'm the only one that gets ta disrespect him."

"Crypto! Thank Arkvoodle you're here!" Pox smiled, relief in his eyes.

"No sweat Poxarific, didn't think I'd leave ya here to be violated didja?"

recovered from the low charged effects of the Anal Probe, "You insolent little bug! How dare you interrupt! Do you know who I am?"

"A royal pain in the tushy if ya ask me." Crypto growled at her.

"I will have you imprisoned for this!" She started toward him "You'll never be a warrior again when I get done with…"

Pox finally was able to focus his mental abilities now that she wasn't all over him and used his powers to render her unconscious before she could finish her rant.

Crypto sighed, "Thanks Poxy, she was grating on my last nerve."

"She won't be out long, help me off of this table."

"One sec." he left the room for a minute and came back with Pox's chair. He unstrapped his mentor and helped him back in it.

"Thank you Crypto," Pox said gratefully, "I owe you one." He reattached the cords on his chair to his head and put his shoulder piece back on.

"Nah just finish that upgrade ya promised me and we'll call it even." He grinned

"Alright." He nodded and looked back at , "First we need to deal with her."

"How do we do that? We're probably both already gonna be screwed just for messin' with her this much."

"We'll lock her in the sleeping quarters and I will send the Mothership's security footage to the Admiral, he can report her to the Emperor. We will send this ship back to the home world with her in it; Meningitis can deal with her then.

"W-wait Pox, Yer gonna give up this Mothership? You've been wanting a new Mothership since the second game! Let's keep it!"

Pox shook his head, "No Crypto, I can't do that, I want to earn a new Mothership not get one by chance. Cyclosporiasis will entrust me with one when he feels I am deserving of it, I wouldn't feel right taking this one."

"So what, we go back to flippin' pancakes for a bunch of small town monkies, while I grab brains with an understocked Armory?!" Crypto growled.

"Of course not!" Pox frowned, "I said we weren't keeping the ship I didn't say we weren't going to taking all of the necessary supplies first!"

"Really?" Crypto got excited, "We're gonna take what we want?"

"Yes" he nodded, "Raid to your heart's content."

"Alright! It's like a freakin' holiday!" Crypto grabbed and, after locking her in the sleeping quarters like Pox said. He went and grabbed everything that caught his eye, mostly weapon related items and any Furon alcohol.

Pox sent the security footage and a report to the Admiral explaining that would be arriving back at the home world in a primarily disabled Mothership in a few days' time. He then proceeded to completely clean out the lab, taking everything: the equipment, the supplies, the communication system that was better than his homemade one, the medical supplies and the cloning chamber. They gathered everything they wanted in the Mothership's hanger, it was clear that they would have to make more than one trip with the saucer.

"Crypto you and I will take the first load back to the restaurant, I will stay there while you come back and get the rest. When you have all of it make sure you send the Mothership back to the home world, I have already programed it, and you just need to hit the launch control."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it Poxy and while I'm playing delivery boy you'll make time with yer girlfriend, she's worried about ya." He pushed Pox's chair into the Abducto Beam of the saucer, letting his blushing commander get on the ship and followed close behind. He piloted the saucer back down to Floodlight and landed in front of the restaurant. They hauled the first load of stuff inside and Angela immediately ran over and hugged Pox, "Are you alright?"

Pox was a little startled but smiled and returned the embrace, "Yes…yes I'm fine."

Crypto frowned, "What no hug for me? What am I chopped liver? I risked my life too!"

"Oh Crypto don't be so dramatic!" Pox hissed, "The only risk posed to you was a possible kick in the package."

"That's alright," Angela smiled and gave Crypto a small hug, "Thank you for rescuing Pox."

"Not a problem, told ya I'd get him back doll face." Crypto said as hugged her back and had a grin on his face when she let go. "I'll go get the rest of the stuff." He headed back to the saucer.

Pox waited till the saucer flew away before looking into Angela's eyes "…Angie, I…I have to tell you something very important."

"Anything Pox." She said, sitting down next to him.

"I'm not sure how to …say it…" he looked down a little.

"…Just…tell me bluntly." She sounded a little concerned.

"O-okay." He breathed in deeply, "Crypto and I… have to leave Floodlight very soon."

"Oh." she looked down now too, "Then… what happens to me? …to us?"

"I can leave the restaurant to you and you can do with it as you please or… if…you're willing to leave Floodlight behind, you could…come with us. I want you to do whatever you feel is best even if it means we…"

She put a hand to his lips to stop him before taking his hands in hers, "I didn't stay this long just to leave you now. I'll go wherever I can be with you."

Pox smiled, tears in his eyes, "I'm happy to hear you say that, it wouldn't be the same without you." He pulled her close to him again and kissed her lovingly and she was more than happy to return it. The two of them only broke their embrace when they heard the saucer land once again a few minutes later. Pox glanced at the door then back, "Crypto doesn't know we're leaving yet, please let me be the one to tell him."

She nodded, "Alright I won't say anything."

"It's best if you don't think it either in case he reads your mind."

"Wait, you guys can do that?" She blinked in surprise.

"Err…Yes."

"I wish I had known that sooner…" Her cheeks stained a bright pink, "That explains Crypto snickering at me for no reason that one time…"

"Ehheh…Sorry." Pox gave a small grin.

Crypto walked in at that very moment. Shoving the rest of the stuff into the restaurant, "That's everything Poxy and little Miss Nut Job's on her way back to the home world."

"Excellent work Crypto! I'm sure we'll hear from the Admiral about all of this soon… and hopefully we won't be arrested."

"Aw crap ya think that'll happen?" Crypto asked frantically.

"Well, I don't think it will but it's…one possible outcome."

"Great, what do we do then?"

"There's not much we can do until we hear some word. I suggest we try not to think about it and get on with our lives, and our mission."

"Well uh, okay… I don't think they'll be too happy that I probed the Emperor's daughter…"

"Uh, what exactly happened up there?" Angela asked the two Furons with a mild look of horror on her face.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, really Crypto tried to reassure her but when her facial expression didn't change he felt the need to justify himself, "Look I had to do somethin' or she was gonna rape ol'Poxy here."

"What?" her eyes widened.

"Crypto!" Pox hissed, "That…that's quite enough! Why don't you go torture some humans or something Hm?"

"Hey I was just-"

"Go!" Pox emphasized by motioning a philangepod toward the door, now completely embarrassed again.

"Sheesh… Fine… Sorry." He exited the restaurant as Pox put a hand to his forehead in disbelief "This is defiantly not my night." he sighed before taking a much more subtle and informative approach to explaining things to his bewildered girlfriend.


	16. Risen from the Dust

**Chapter 16: Risen from the Dust**

Crypto returned in the morning from a long night of vaporizing monkeys. After everything with , he had needed some good old fashioned destroying to unwind. He flew up the stairs with his jet pack and barged into Pox's room like always. Pox's cerebral chair was hovering near his desk but his cranial wires were detached and hanging down on the floor. Angela was half lying in the chair with Pox in her lap as she stroked one of his metal horns lightly. The Furon commander leaned against her fairly pronounced chest, wearing a big smile on his face.

Crypto grinned and cleared his throat, "Am I interrupting?"

Both of them jolted slightly and looked like they'd been caught stealing. Pox managed to find his voice first, though it was slightly guilt ridden "Err…not at all! Destroy some humans did you?" he asked, wanting to veer Crypto off topic as quickly as possible but the warrior wasn't falling for it, "Poxy, you sly dog!" He smiled, "And here I thought probing was just my thing."

Pox blushed but not nearly as much as Angela, "Uh, let's not get on that topic again, please!"

"Whatever you say cupcake," he snickered. "I'll get the kitchen set up." He strolled downstairs and she let out her breath, "He sure has some bad timing."

"Indeed, it's a gift of his." Pox agreed, "Now, where were we?"

"Right about here "she started kissing him and he returned her affection lovingly until an alert sounded and flashed on his screen for the Communication Array. "Hm?" he looked over at it and gasped, "It's the Admiral! Q-quickly… hide…or…something!"

She got up and placed him back into his chair gently but quickly. There wasn't much time to think so she sort of dove under his desk while Pox scrambled to attach his chair's cranial wires, he got them in place and tried getting his composure together as he rapidly accepted the call and Cyclosporiasis appeared on his view screen.

"A-Admiral! What a…pleasant surprise. I eh…didn't think I would be hearing from you this soon." Pox grinned sheepishly.

"Orthopox-14, I have reviewed the footage and the report that you…" he paused and furrowed his brow slightly, "Is that lipstick on your cheek commander?"

Pox got a look of shock on his face before quickly coming up with an excuse, "Oh, no sir, that's a…c-chemical burn!" He covered it up with his hand, "Crypto was futzing around the lab, and you know how careless he can be! Heh-heh."

"I see, you ought to keep a better eye on him Pox."

"Y-yes sir!" He nodded and Angela held back a giggle under his desk, "S-so about this business with ?" Pox steered the conversation back on track.

"Yes of course," Cyclosporiasis continued, "I have also shown what you sent me to the Emperor."

"Please tell me he took it well…" he said nervously, tapping his fingertips together and fearing the worst.

"He was very displeased that Cryptosporidium used a standard issue Anal Probe on his daughter."

"Admiral in Crypto's defense he was only-" Pox started but the Admiral put his hand up to silence him.

"Let me finish commander." he growled slightly. "His displeasure was short lived as I pointed out that had Cryptosporidium not intervened she would have essentially been "probed" in a different fashion."

"W-well yes I… suppose that is true." Pox tried not to let his voice give away how utterly appalled he was at Cyclosporiasis' comment.

"Furthermore the Emperor has decided that her little sister Salmonella will be guaranteed the throne, you and Cryptosporidium have been cleared of all possible charges and your orders are to continue your mission as before."

Pox sighed with relief, "Oh thank you Admiral! I'm so glad to hear that!"

He nodded, "I also was surprised by what I saw on the footage about you returning the Mothership despite the convenience it would have been to hold onto it for your mission. Rest assured your integrity has been noted. Keep impressing me and I may consider issuing you a new Mothership soon."

Pox smiled at that and nodded, "Thank you sir."

Cyclosporiasis gave a short nod back, "I look forward to the next mission report Orthopox, and keep up the good work." With that, he cut off the transmission and the video screen went black.

When all was quiet for a bit Angela crawled out from under Pox's desk and sat down on a cleared off spot on it, "Sounds like great news!"

"It is!" Pox agreed, "Excellent news!" He turned his chair toward the door, "Crypto! Come up here!" he called.

He appeared in the doorway shortly, "What's up Poxy? Need a third person to shake things up a little?"

"No!" He frowned, "I just spoke with Admiral Cyclosporiasis, the matter with has been resolved and we will not be charged with any crimes."

"Right on! So that means the mission's still on and we won the game…roll credits and all that, right Pox?"

"Not so fast Crypto, there is one last thing we need to do."

"Kay, what is it; and does it involve explosives?"

"No I'm afraid not but I think you will like it anyway. I do not plan to remain the proprietor of a pathetic small town pancake factory for our remaining time on this planet. Ready the saucer Crypto, we're going to pay Paradiso a visit."

Crypto wasn't sure what Pox had in mind but he went downstairs and fired up his saucer. Pox and Angela followed him downstairs and locked up the restaurant before standing/hovering under the Abducto Beam and being pulled into the ship. Pox took over the controls and directed the saucer back to Paradiso. Crypto looked at the city in a rather depressed way through the reddish glass dome, "I don't understand what's goin' on Pox, the hell are we doing here?"

"Crypto do you recall that letter I received not long ago?"

He thought for a bit, "Oh, Yeah, what was that all about anyway?"

"It was from a construction company I hired informing me that my latest project had been completed."

"Oh? What kind of project?" The depression on his voice had transformed into interest.

Pox landed the saucer and turned to face Crypto, "Consider it a gift, go out and see for yourself."

A slight frown of suspicion formed on the warrior's face but he was very curious and let the Abducto Beam return him to the ground. He quickly realized they had landed in the place where his beloved Space Dust casino had once stood. He looked up to see that a brand new, grander space-themed casino had been built in its place like a phoenix reborn more beautiful than before from its ashes. His mouth fell open slightly as he gazed upon the building. A sign that said "Opening soon!" was posted on its entrance doors and flashing in purple neon just above the entrance was the casinos name: The Galaxy.

Crypto was so in awe, his emotions welling up inside him, that he didn't notice Pox hover over to him till he placed his hand on his shoulder. "You didn't think I would let your dreams go unfulfilled did you?"

Crypto turned to face his mentor, "You…you did this for me?"

Pox nodded, "Of course."

Crypto was trying not to get emotional but it clearly was happening despite his best efforts, "Why Poxy? I give ya crap all the time."

"Pay close attention Crypto because I may only ever say this once. Despite your temper, terrible manors, destructive tendencies and smart mouth…you just so happen to be the best friend a Furon could ever ask for."

Crypto swallowed a little hard at that, holding back a couple tears, "Aw crap Pox yer chokin' me up here! It's completely out of character!" he was silent for a minute, "Damn it! Now I gotta hug ya."

Pox blinked, "Err… that's not necessary Crypto, really."

"You brought this on yerself Poxy," he held his arms outstretched, "C'mere!"

"Stay back you dolt! I mean it! I'll…" but before Pox could finish Crypto grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. He frowned slightly but hugged him back for about a second before pushing the grinning warrior away and onto his butt on the ground.

"Wipe that ridiculous smirk off of your face! We're got humans to destroy!"

"Hell Yeah!" Crypto jumped to his feet, "I'm king of the world baby!" He ran to the entrance of The Galaxy and opened its doors to the spectacular gambling floor that lay beyond, "C'mon Pox lets milk these monkeys for all they got!"

Pox smiled and watched him run inside before looking back at Angela, "Are you sure you're ready for this kind of life?"

She picked up Crypto's Disintegrator Ray that had been left on the ground, turning the safety off and priming it "I think I'll get used to it." She smirked, "Lead the way spaceman."


End file.
